Rents rise up to 14.5% in Colombia as commerce loses steam

Colombian households face a complex economic outlook as residential rents keep rising and commerce slows, Bloomberg Línea reported on September 30, 2026.

In August, house rents grew 9.1% year on year, while apartment rents rose 6.6%, according to data analyzed by economist Cristian Rincón of Davivienda Corredores. These increases are squeezing household budgets, which must also contend with weaker momentum in the commercial sector.

Meanwhile, retail sales rose 5.3% in July, their slowest growth in almost two years, according to figures released by Economic Research at Banco de Bogotá. This cooling in retail spending coincides with higher costs for rented housing.

The analysis of the specialized index from El Libertador and Davivienda shows that house rents rose faster than their 12-month average of 7.0%. In the case of apartments, the 6.6% increase also exceeded the annual average of 6.0% and the 5.8% recorded at the close of 2025.

Regionally, Armenia led the largest increases in August, with 14.5% for houses and 14.3% for apartments, followed by cities such as Bucaramanga and Pereira, pointing to broad pressure on tenants across different parts of the country.