I Build Real Estate in Colombia. Here's Why Miami Investors Are Getting It Wrong.

I've been building residential projects in Envigado, Colombia for over 20 years. In the last three years, I've watched a new type of client appear: the Miami investor.

They come with $200,000 to $400,000 USD, a spreadsheet, and a set of assumptions about Colombia that are usually 10 years out of date. Most of them are making the same mistake. And it's costing them returns.

Let me explain.

The Miami Comparison Nobody Is Doing Honestly

When investors compare Miami and Medellín, they usually look at one number: price per square meter. Miami wins on prestige. Medellín wins on everything else.

Here's what $200,000 USD actually gets you in each market in 2026:

Same budget. Completely different outcome. But the real gap isn't in the purchase price. It's in the carrying costs.

The Carrying Cost Problem Nobody Talks About

A $200,000 USD apartment in Miami costs you roughly $16,000 to $32,000 per year just to hold — before you make a single dollar.

That difference — $10,000 to $26,000 per year — compounds dramatically over a 5-year hold. In Medellín, that money stays in your pocket. In Miami, it goes to the HOA.

What $200,000 USD Actually Returns Over 5 Years

Let me run the real numbers. Mid-range scenario, conservative estimates.

Same starting budget. Colombia wins on net return — by a significant margin. The reason is simple: lower carrying costs + higher rental yield + a market that is still appreciating at 8–14% annually in COP terms.

But Is It Safe?

This is always the first question. And it's the right question — just usually based on information that's 15 years old.

Envigado is a separate municipality from Medellín. It has its own mayor, its own police force, and consistently ranks as one of Colombia's safest and most livable cities.

I've been building there for 20 years. My clients live there. My family lives there.

Is it perfect? No. Is it comparable to the security situation of the 1990s that most Americans still picture when they hear "Colombia"? Not even close.

What I Tell Every Miami Investor Who Calls Me

I don't try to sell Colombia. I try to give them the real numbers and let them decide. The investors who do well here share three characteristics:

• They visit before they buy. No exceptions. You cannot make a serious real estate decision about a market you've never seen.
• They think in 5+ year horizons. This is not a flip market. The returns come from holding, renting and letting the market appreciate.
• They work with people who actually build here — not just sell here. There's a big difference between a real estate agent who sells inventory and a developer who builds it. One knows the market. The other knows the ground.

I've been on the ground in Envigado for over 20 years. I know what the soil costs, what the permits take, what the buyers want and what the numbers actually look like when the project is done.

If you're a Miami investor seriously considering Colombia, I'm happy to show you the real numbers — not the brochure version. The opportunity is real. But it requires doing it right.

The Bottom Line

Miami real estate made sense for a long time. For many investors it still does. But if your goal is maximizing return on a $200,000 to $400,000 USD investment over the next 5 years, the math increasingly points south.

Not to all of Latin America. To specific markets, specific neighborhoods, specific developers who know what they're doing. Envigado is one of those markets. And it's still early enough that the numbers work.