Summary
Nobody can honestly tell you where Arequipa prices are heading: there is no price index for the city. What we do know is that apartments ask about $1,441 per m² (TuLugar, October 2026), and the last trend reading we have, from Properati in May 2026, had house prices 6.1% below a year earlier.
Prices differ a lot by district: apartments ask about $1,665 per m² in Yanahuara and $1,552 in Cayma, against $1,225 in Cerro Colorado and $1,060 in José Luis Bustamante y Rivero. All these figures come from small samples (116 apartment listings for the whole city).
Lima, the only Peruvian market with an official series, is a useful warning: prices rose 10.9% in dollars over the year to the first quarter of 2026 but fell 1.0% in soles after inflation, and they were 12.7% lower in real soles than in the first quarter of 2019.
So treat any precise figure, like 6% for 2026, 35% in five years or 80% in ten, as a guess. No bank, portal or official body publishes a price forecast for Arequipa.
The market is busy, though: SUNARP registered a record 17,462 property sales and 9,189 mortgages in the Arequipa region in 2025.
Credit is the first thing to watch. At 7.11% in dollars, a median 2-bedroom ($127,524) with 20% down costs about $798 a month over 20 years; one more point of interest adds about $63.
Airbnb supply is the second. Listings in central Arequipa roughly doubled in a year (+101%) while occupancy sat at 29%, so "tourist-ready" apartments shouldn't carry a premium.
In Cayma, an average 1-bedroom earns about S/ 13,700 a year on Airbnb, less than the S/ 14,616 a long lease brings in, and a long lease nets about 3.3% a year.
The real price drivers are slow ones: an airport deal worth more than $67 million (about $35 million to double the terminal), Cerro Colorado growing to 262,080 residents, and Majes Siguas II, an irrigation project for 38,000 hectares with no construction dates yet.
Over five years, plan on rent, not resale: about 3.3% net a year adds up to roughly 16.5% of the price, while buying and selling again costs about 6% to 8%.
Bottom line: buy in Yanahuara or Cayma at or below the district median, let it long-term, and count any price rise as a bonus, not as the plan.
Where are Arequipa prices today, by district and property type?
Here's the honest picture: we know roughly what sellers ask, but nobody measures how prices change. TuLugar, Properati and the other portals publish snapshots of listings, not an index, and the central bank's price series covers Lima only.
What the listings do show: the best modern apartments in Yanahuara and Cayma ask the most, houses with land cost only a little more per m² than apartments, and the market is small enough that a few listings can move the medians.
What is the average house price in Arequipa right now?
Apartments in Arequipa ask a median $1,441 (about S/ 4,950) per m², and houses $1,539 (about S/ 5,300) per m² of built area (TuLugar, October 2026, from 116 apartment and 117 house listings).
A median 2-bedroom apartment asks about $127,524 (about S/ 439,000), but that figure rests on only 13 listings. For a 3-bedroom house, TuLugar's median is $562,000, from just 8 listings, mostly big houses: don't read it as a typical price.
If you'd rather build, urban lots under 500 m² ask a median $76,000 (about S/ 261,000) across the city.
How much have property prices increased in Arequipa over the past 12 months?
We couldn't find a reliable 12-month figure for Arequipa, and anyone quoting "+6%" should show you where it comes from.
The only trend reading we have is for houses, from Properati: S/ 4,781 ($1,400) per m² in May 2026, up 6.9% on January 2026 but down 6.1% on May 2025. We couldn't recheck it in October, and it isn't comparable with TuLugar's figures.
For comparison, Lima apartment prices rose 10.9% in dollars over the year to the first quarter of 2026, but fell 1.0% in soles once inflation (4.17% nationally over the 12 months to September 2026) is taken out (BCRP, INEI).
What did grow is activity: SUNARP registered 17,462 property sales and 9,189 mortgages in the Arequipa region in 2025, record numbers, and expects registrations of all kinds to rise about 20% in 2026. More sales doesn't automatically mean higher prices.
Which neighborhoods have the highest prices in Arequipa right now?
We found no district growth figures, so the 8% to 10% a year often quoted for Cayma can't be checked. What we can compare is asking prices: Yanahuara and Cayma lead, Cerro Colorado and José Luis Bustamante y Rivero are the cheaper options.
| District | Apartment, asking price per m² | Compared with the city median |
|---|---|---|
| Yanahuara | $1,665 (about S/ 5,750) | +16% |
| Cayma | $1,552 (about S/ 5,350) | +8% |
| Arequipa (all city) | $1,441 (about S/ 4,950) | - |
| Cerro Colorado | $1,225 (about S/ 4,200) | -15% |
| José Luis Bustamante y Rivero | $1,060 (about S/ 3,650) | -26% |
Inside Cayma and Cerro Colorado, the top new projects have been reported above S/ 6,000 ($1,750) per m², according to CAPECO figures quoted by Encuentro.
Where demand is clearest: Cerro Colorado is now the biggest district in the city, with 262,080 residents in the 2025 census, and most new projects go there.
Which property types are holding their value best in Arequipa?
Modern apartments with parking and security are the easiest to resell and to rent, which is why they hold up best. But we found no figures that measure how fast each property type gains value.
Per m², houses ask only about 7% more than apartments across the city ($1,539 against $1,441), and you get land with them. In Cayma the gap is much bigger: houses ask $2,288 (about S/ 7,850) per m², 47% more than apartments there.
The one trend reading we have points the other way from the hype: Properati's house prices were 6.1% lower in May 2026 than a year earlier. Big, older houses that need work are the hardest to sell.
What is driving property prices up or down?
Six things move Arequipa prices, and you can follow each of them:
- Credit: average mortgage rates are 7.61% in soles and 7.11% in dollars (SBS, October 2026), with the BCRP rate at 4.25%. If rates rise, buyers can pay less.
- Airbnb supply: listings in the central district roughly doubled in a year (+101%), and rose 46% in Cayma and 35% in Yanahuara (AirROI). More supply caps what investors will pay.
- The airport: a deal worth more than $67 million (about S/ 230 million) signed in March 2026, including about $35 million to double the terminal's capacity.
- Population: the 2025 census counted 262,080 people in Cerro Colorado, 148,064 in Paucarpata and 106,043 in Cayma.
- Registered sales: 17,462 sales and 9,189 mortgages in the region in 2025 (SUNARP), a sign of a formal market that's getting deeper.
- Land and soil: little serviced land in the best districts pushes prices up, while earthquakes, the torrenteras (dry channels that flood in the rainy season) and old sillar buildings push the price of risky addresses down.
Peru Property Market
This is just a preview page. Prices and rents move fast: your guide is refreshed every month, and you always get the latest version.
What can you expect from Arequipa prices over the next 12 months?
No one publishes a 12-month forecast for Arequipa, and we won't make one up. Our reading: well-located, well-priced apartments should hold their price, while overpriced large units and generic new projects have room to come down.
How much are property prices expected to rise in Arequipa over the next year?
There's no published figure. The "+6% for 2026, somewhere between 4% and 8%" you may have read had no source we could check.
The safer working assumption is that prices in soles roughly keep pace with inflation at best (4.17% nationally over the year to September 2026), which means little or no real gain. That's what happened in Lima, where the data exists: -1.0% in real soles over a year.
The currency matters too. The sol is at about 3.44 per dollar, a bit weaker than a month ago but stronger than its 2025 average (3.56). If a seller quotes in soles, the apartment costs you more dollars than in 2024 or 2025; if the price is in dollars, the exchange rate doesn't change what you pay.
Which neighborhoods are most likely to hold up in Arequipa over the next year?
We found no district forecast, so the "6% to 10% growth" often quoted for Cayma and Cerro Colorado can't be backed up.
Where demand is easiest to see: Yanahuara and Cayma, the two districts asking the most per m² ($1,665 and $1,552), and the best-connected condos of Cerro Colorado, where the population and the airport works are.
Sachaca is often sold as the "next" area because it offers more space and gardens, but there were too few listings to give it a reliable price, so you can't tell whether it's undervalued.
Which property types are most likely to keep their value in Arequipa?
Two- and three-bedroom apartments with parking, a lift and security have the widest pool of buyers and tenants, so they're the safest bet. We found no figure for how much they'll gain, and the "7% to 9%" often quoted has no source.
The weakest are large older houses that need a new roof, rewiring or earthquake work, and generic apartments marketed as "tourist-ready" in buildings full of similar units.
How will interest rates affect property prices?
Rates are the factor most likely to cap prices. The BCRP policy rate is 4.25% (October 2026), and average mortgage rates are 7.61% in soles and 7.11% in dollars. BBVA Research expects two 0.25-point hikes in the policy rate in the coming months, with inflation near 5% by December.
Here's what that means for a buyer of a median 2-bedroom at $127,524 (about S/ 439,000), with 20% down over 20 years:
| Mortgage rate (in dollars) | Monthly payment | Net income a bank will want (about 30% of income) |
|---|---|---|
| 7.11% (today's average) | $798 | about $2,660 |
| 8.11% (one point more) | $860 | about $2,870 |
One extra point adds about $63 a month, or 8%. Local buyers who borrow lose that room first, so sellers of expensive apartments and big houses feel it first.
If you're a foreigner without income in Peru, rates matter less to you directly: banks have no standard mortgage for non-residents, so you'll most likely pay cash.
What are the biggest risks for property prices?
The main risks, from most to least likely:
- Affordability: in the best districts, prices are high for local incomes, and rates may rise.
- Too many similar units: Airbnb listings doubled in the center with occupancy at 29%, and new projects cluster in Cerro Colorado.
- A thin market: 17,462 sales in the whole region in 2025, so selling one specific apartment can take time.
- Earthquakes and floods: Arequipa sits in a seismic zone below the Misti volcano, and some streets lie in torrentera flood paths.
- Politics: Keiko Fujimori took office on July 28, 2026, Peru's 9th president in a decade. So far the economy has held up, but policy can change fast.
Is it a good time to buy a rental property?
Only if you buy at a fair price in a district tenants want, and pay cash. Rents are modest: Numbeo puts gross yields at about 4.2% in the center and 5.2% outside it (October 2026).
A real example: a 1-bedroom in Cayma asks about $96,000 (about S/ 330,000). Let long-term at S/ 1,218 ($355) a month, it brings in S/ 14,616 a year. After the 5% rental tax, one empty month, repairs and predial, it nets about 3.3%.
Borrowing to buy doesn't work: at 7.11% in dollars, the loan costs more than the apartment earns.
The case for waiting: top new projects asking more than S/ 6,000 ($1,750) per m² rarely rent for enough to justify the price, and the growing Airbnb supply makes "tourist" yields unreliable.
70+pagesIs the Airbnb boom in central Arequipa pushing prices up?
Not that we can see. What the boom has done is crowd the market: hosts are adding listings much faster than guests are arriving.
| Area (AirROI) | Listings | Change in a year | Occupancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arequipa district (Cercado), 12 months to July 2026 | 1,037 | +101% | 29% |
| Cayma, 12 months to Sept. 2026 | 181 | +46% | 35.6% |
| Yanahuara, 12 months to Sept. 2026 | 191 | +35% | 33.7% |
In the Cercado, the average listing made only about $2,694 (about S/ 9,250) in a year. Across the Arequipa market, AirROI counts about 1,070 listings at $42 (about S/ 145) a night and 31% occupancy (12 months to September 2026).
Even in Cayma, an average 1-bedroom grosses about S/ 13,700 a year on Airbnb, less than the S/ 14,616 a long lease brings in.
Two more things to know before buying for Airbnb: hosts must register foreign guests with Migraciones, and SUNAT is checking, after finding about 34,000 Airbnb owners in Peru who hadn't declared their 2023 income. Also read the building's rules: some condos limit short stays.
What to do: don't pay extra for a "tourist-ready" apartment. Price it as a long-term rental, and treat any Airbnb income as a bonus.
Where will property prices be in 5 years in Arequipa?
Nobody knows, and the "+35% by 2031" that circulates has no source. Five years is long enough for good districts to gain, but in Peru prices have often barely kept up with inflation.
What is the 5-year property price forecast for Arequipa?
There isn't one. No bank, portal or official body publishes a 5-year forecast for Arequipa, and we found no Arequipa price figure from five years ago to compare with.
The best long-run guide is Lima, where the BCRP has data: from the first quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2026, apartment prices rose 13.0% in current soles but fell 12.7% in constant soles. In other words, buyers who waited didn't miss much.
If you plan on a yearly gain, don't go above inflation, and check that the deal still works with no gain at all.
Which areas in Arequipa could see the best price growth over the next 5 years?
The areas with the clearest long-term demand are Cerro Colorado (the biggest district, with 262,080 residents, and home to the airport), Cayma and Yanahuara (established, with little free land), and Sachaca for families who want space.
The "35% to 50% by 2031" often quoted for these areas has no source. What would make the difference: the airport works actually starting, water and roads reaching new urbanizations, and buyers not paying today for growth that hasn't happened yet.
What property type will give the best return in Arequipa over 5 years?
A 2- or 3-bedroom apartment of about 70 to 120 m², in Cayma, Yanahuara, Cerro Colorado or José Luis Bustamante y Rivero, let long-term. It's the easiest to rent and to resell.
The return will come mostly from rent. At about 3.3% net a year, five years of rent add up to roughly 16.5% of the price, before any price change. Buying and later selling costs about 6% to 8% of the price (buying costs, plus the agent's fee when you sell), so a short hold eats much of that.
The "55% to 70% total return in five years" sometimes quoted assumed both strong price growth and gross rent with no costs: don't plan on it.
How will new infrastructure projects affect property prices in Arequipa over 5 years?
Three projects matter, and none has firm dates:
- The airport: in March 2026, the operator Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú and the MTC signed a deal for more than $67 million (about S/ 230 million) of works at Rodríguez Ballón airport, including about $35 million to double the terminal's capacity. The MTC took over the plot needed for the expansion in August 2026, but no work dates have been published.
- Majes Siguas II: the irrigation project, meant to add 38,000 hectares of farmland, entered the national infrastructure plan for 2026 to 2031 in March 2026, with no construction schedule yet.
- Hospital Goyeneche and the Corío port: both are in the same national plan, at an early stage.
Who could benefit: Cerro Colorado and the well-connected central districts from the airport; the city's economy as a whole from Majes Siguas II, mostly over the longer term. We found no Arequipa data on how much prices rise near finished projects, so treat any "+5% to 15%" promise as sales talk.
How will population growth and other factors impact property values in Arequipa in 5 years?
Population growth supports demand, but mostly in the outer districts. The 2025 census put Cerro Colorado at 262,080 residents, ahead of Paucarpata (148,064) and Cayma (106,043).
Most of that demand comes from families moving in from southern Peru who need affordable homes, not from foreign buyers. That favors mid-priced apartments and houses in Cerro Colorado and José Luis Bustamante y Rivero more than luxury units.
The other factor is what the city can deliver: water, sanitation and roads. Where they lag, growth goes to informal plots with weak titles and little resale value.
70+pagesWhat is the 10 year property price outlook in Arequipa?
Over ten years, location and paperwork will matter more than any citywide trend: documented apartments in good districts should do fine, while informal plots and weak buildings may not.
What is the 10-year property price prediction for Arequipa?
There's no credible one. The "+80% by 2036" that circulates assumed 5.5% to 6.5% a year with no source behind it.
For reference, the airport concession runs to 2036, and in Lima prices lost 12.7% in real soles over seven years. A sensible plan: buy for the rent and the use, and see any real price gain over ten years as a bonus.
What long-term economic factors will shape property prices?
The three that matter most: mining and farming income in the south (Majes Siguas II alone targets 38,000 hectares of new farmland), whether the airport and other projects get built, and how fast the city creates serviced urban land.
The biggest structural risk is the last one. If water, roads and sanitation don't keep up, the city keeps spreading into informal areas, and the formal homes in good districts stay scarce and expensive, but hard to sell to local buyers.
How do you avoid overpaying in Arequipa when nobody tracks prices?
Without an index, your best protection is a few checks before you make an offer:
- Compare the price per m² with the district median: about $1,665 (about S/ 5,750) in Yanahuara, $1,552 (about S/ 5,350) in Cayma, $1,225 (about S/ 4,200) in Cerro Colorado. Above that, ask what you're paying for.
- Get the price and the currency in writing. If the seller quotes in soles, compare in dollars on the day you sign.
- Negotiate: there's no Arequipa figure for the gap between asking and sold prices, but in Lima's new-build market it was about 5.5% in July 2026. In projects with many unsold units, push harder.
- Check the title: get the partida registral from SUNARP and look at the cargas y gravámenes (mortgages, liens) before signing.
- Check the risk map: look up the address on CENEPRED's maps for torrenteras, and ask for the building's construction year and permits.
- Budget the costs: about 3% to 4% on top of the price on a resale (mostly the 3% alcabala above the first S/ 55,000), about 1% to 2% on a new apartment from the developer, and predial of about S/ 1,470 a year on a home valued at S/ 300,000 by the municipality.
As a foreigner, you can buy in your own name anywhere in Arequipa city: the 50 km border ban doesn't apply here. Buying doesn't give you residency, though.
Our methodology
This article looks at where Arequipa property prices stand, what moved them over the past year, and what can reasonably be said about the next one, five and ten years. It covers homes in the city's main districts, not land on its own or commercial property.
Because Arequipa has no official price index, we built the picture from listing data: TuLugar asking prices (October 2026, with small samples we flag), Properati's last house trend (May 2026), SUNARP registrations for 2025, AirROI for short-term rentals and Numbeo for rents. For context we used the BCRP's Lima series, the 2025 census, INEI inflation and SBS mortgage rates.
Tax and cost rules come from official sources: SAT for alcabala, MEF for the 2026 UIT, the national property tax law for predial, SUNAT for the 5% rental tax, and SUNARP and EximiaHaus for registry and notary costs. All examples were calculated by us.
We checked these figures in October 2026. Sol amounts are converted at about 3.44 soles per US dollar (and 3.85 soles per euro), the SUNAT/SBS rate of October 22, 2026.
Where we had no direct figure (a 12-month or multi-year price change, any price forecast, growth by district or property type, the premium near new infrastructure), we said so rather than guess, and our outlook is a reading of the figures, not a forecast. Your own result will depend on the exact building, its paperwork, the price you negotiate and how long you hold it.
Key sources used for this analysis include TuLugar Arequipa, Properati, BCRP Nota de Estudios 51-2026, El Búho (SUNARP Arequipa 2025), El Búho (2025 census), El Búho (airport deal), AirROI, Numbeo, EximiaHaus (SBS mortgage rates) and Andina (Majes Siguas II).
