Colombia's housing gap, in three numbers

Over the last seven years, the share of Colombians who own their home dropped from 42.9% to 34.8%, according to DANE. Today, renting is the predominant form of housing tenure in the country — something that was the exception a decade ago and is now the norm for most households.

A structural problem, not a personal one

This decline is not the result of isolated personal decisions, but of a deeper shift in the country's conditions: construction costs have risen, interest rates remain high, and several housing subsidies have been reduced. The numbers speak for themselves:

• The housing deficit reached 25.6% in 2025.
• In Bogotá, only 32.8% of households own their home.
• In Valle del Cauca, 32.3%.

Inequality makes the picture worse. Cities like Cali and Cartagena record some of the highest Gini indexes in the country — meaning a wider gap between those with access to housing and wealth, and those without. Medellín, by contrast, remains one of the most stable cities: it has the second lowest extreme poverty rate in Colombia (4.1%).

What does this mean in practice?

It means that the traditional model — saving for years to buy a home outright — is becoming out of reach for more and more people, not because of a lack of discipline, but because the structural conditions have changed. Understanding this is the first step before discussing any alternative: the problem is systemic, not individual.

The habit comes before the amount

When it comes to financial education, the starting point is almost always the same: not how much money you have, but how consistent your saving is. Setting aside a fixed portion of your income, month after month, is what builds the discipline that later allows you to make participation decisions with greater confidence.

New ways to learn about real estate

Today there are real estate participation models that allow people to engage with the sector in a different way from traditional purchasing: understanding how a real project works and what drives its value, as part of a learning process — not as a formula for assured results.

It is not a shortcut, nor a promise of guaranteed income. It is a more accessible way to learn — with real money and managed risk — how the real estate market moves. Something that was previously reserved for those who already had large capital or prior knowledge of the sector.

The first step is to learn

At Circular Urban, we believe education comes first. That is why every week we publish short reads on this blog to help you understand — gradually and without jargon — how real estate participation models work, what questions to ask before making any decision, and what is really happening with housing access in Colombia.

If you want to keep learning, you can subscribe to receive these reads as soon as they are published — no cost, no commitment, just information.

Source: DANE, National Quality of Life Survey (ECV) 2024–2025, Monetary Poverty Report 2024–2025.