Buying Property in Colombia as a Foreigner

The Order a Colombian Property Purchase Runs In

Buying property in Colombia follows six steps, and each one has a guide below. The order is set by how the deed and the registry work, so skipping ahead costs money.

1. The offer. You agree a price with the seller or the seller’s agent.
2. The title study. A lawyer reads a fresh certificado de tradición y libertad and traces the title for liens and defects.
3. The promesa de compraventa. This signed promise to buy carries a deposit, commonly 10% to 30% of the price.
4. The deed. Buyer and seller sign the escritura pública at a notaría, once the seller shows paid-up property tax and building fees.
5. The registry. Ownership passes only when the deed is recorded at the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos (ORIP), run by the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro.
6. The foreign-investment record. Your bank files the exchange declaration that registers the purchase with Banco de la República.

How to buy property in Colombia in ten steps breaks those six stages down with the documents involved. We most often see foreign buyers swap steps two and three. Sign the promesa only after the title study comes back, or make the promesa conditional on it.

If You Are Deciding Whether to Buy

Start with the legal question if you are not sure a foreigner can own here. Can foreigners buy property in Colombia answers who can buy, with which ID, and why buying does not give you residency on its own.

Then put a number on it. How much is a house in Colombia in US dollars sets out asking prices per square meter by city and area, and the house price converter turns any listing in millones into dollars. If the plan is income rather than a home, read Colombia real estate investment before you look at a single listing. The rules on short stays decide whether a rental plan works.

If you want the property to come with a visa, check the price first. The property investor visa needs a purchase worth at least 350 monthly minimum wages, which is 612,816,750 Colombian pesos (COP) in 2026, registered only in your name. The investor visa checker tests a price in one step.

If You Are Choosing a City and a Building

Medellín and Bogotá are different markets, and each has its own guide. Buying property in Medellín covers El Poblado, Laureles and Envigado and what is specific to buying in the Aburrá Valley. Buying property in Bogotá covers Chapinero, Usaquén and the north of the city. Bogotá’s average asking price per square meter ran slightly above Medellín’s in the first quarter of 2026.

Colombia real estate websites shows where listings live and how to read one, including the period used as a thousands separator. Medellín real estate agents explains who an agent works for. Colombia has no mandatory license for brokers. The seller usually pays the agent about 3% of the price, so the agent on the listing works for the seller.

If You Have Found the Apartment

Three guides cover the stretch from a yes on price to the keys:

• Do you need a real estate lawyer in Colombia lists what the title study checks and comes with a free due-diligence checklist.
• Closing costs and property taxes in Colombia breaks down the notary, the 1% registration tax and the registry fees, and who pays each.
• Sending money to buy property in Colombia shows how to move the funds so the investment is registered and you can take it out again.

The money step has one firm rule. Your funds must come in through a Colombian bank or other authorized exchange intermediary, which files the declaration that registers the investment. Money paid to a seller abroad has to be registered by a separate declaration, so ask your lawyer before agreeing to that.

If You Plan to Rent It Out

Renting for less than 30 days counts as a tourism service in Colombia, and it needs an active Registro Nacional de Turismo (RNT). In a building run as propiedad horizontal, the bylaws must also authorize short stays. A building whose bylaws do not authorize them cannot be run as an Airbnb rental, whatever the listing says about returns.

Colombia real estate investment covers yields, the rental rules and Medellín’s enforcement against unregistered tourist rentals. Property management in Medellín covers who looks after the unit while you are abroad, and long-term management typically costs about 8% to 10% of the rent plus 19% value-added tax (VAT).

Who Should Not Buy Yet

Two kinds of buyer should wait. If you have not lived in the city, rent for a few months first, using long-term rentals in Medellín. A street’s noise and hills do not show up on a video tour. If your budget depends on a Colombian mortgage, sort out financing at home before you make an offer.

Our answer would change for a buyer who already knows the city well and has a lawyer they trust. That buyer can go straight to the step-by-step guide and the closing cost figures.

Buying with Someone on Your Side

You can run a purchase alone with a good lawyer. If you are buying from abroad or do not speak Spanish, our buyer’s concierge in Medellín and buyer’s concierge in Bogotá take on the shortlist, viewings, offer, lawyer, title study and notary for you.

To start buying property in Colombia, read the step-by-step guide, then run your target price through the closing cost calculator.