Authored by the expert who managed and guided the team behind the Guatemala Property Pack
This blog post focuses on apartments only, since apartments are the most accessible entry point for a foreign individual buyer in Guatemala City.
We constantly update this blog post so the data you see always reflects the current market, not last year's snapshot.
And if you're planning to buy a property in Guatemala City, you may want to download our real estate pack about Guatemala City.
A quick summary table
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Guatemala City neighborhood with best apartment rental yield | Zona 4 / 4 Grados Norte (studio, 6.6% gross) |
| Guatemala City neighborhood with lowest apartment rental yield | Cayala (3-bedroom, 4.2% gross) |
| Average gross rental yield across Guatemala City apartments | Around 5.3% |
| Average net rental yield across Guatemala City apartments | Around 3.7% |
| Median apartment purchase price in Guatemala City | Around Q1,250,000 |
| Average monthly rent for a Guatemala City apartment | Around Q6,100 |
| Average occupancy rate in Guatemala City rental apartments | Around 92% |
| Fastest-leasing Guatemala City apartment market | Cayala 1-bedroom (18 days average) |
| Slowest-leasing Guatemala City apartment market | Zona 14 3-bedroom (40 days average) |
| Highest occupancy Guatemala City apartment market | Zona 4 studios and Cayala 1-bedrooms (both at 95%) |
| Best value high-yield segment in Guatemala City | Zona 12 / Avenida Petapa 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom apartments |
| Yield spread between best and worst Guatemala City apartment segment | Around 2.4 percentage points (6.6% vs 4.2%) |
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Guatemala City apartments in 2026 ranked by rental yield
This table ranks apartment types across Guatemala City neighborhoods by gross rental yield.
For each neighborhood and apartment type, the table shows the average purchase price, average monthly rent, gross rental yield, net rental yield, annual fees, average occupancy, average time to rent, main rental demand, main risk, and investment profile.
Finally, please note you'll find much more detailed data in our real estate pack about Guatemala City.
| # | Neighborhood | Property type | Gross rental yield | Net rental yield | Average purchase price | Average monthly rent | Ownership annual fees | Average occupancy | Average time to rent | Main rental demand | Main risk | Rental Investment Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zona 4 / 4 Grados Norte | Studio apartment | 6.6% | 3.9% | Q950,000 | Q5,200 | Q22,000 | 95% | 26 days | Young professionals and consultants | New-supply competition from similar towers | Top Pick |
| 2 | Zona 4 / 4 Grados Norte | 1-bedroom apartment | 6.2% | 4.0% | Q1,200,000 | Q6,200 | Q26,000 | 94% | 28 days | Young professionals and students | Amenity-heavy HOA costs eating into returns | Top Pick |
| 3 | Zona 12 / Avenida Petapa | 1-bedroom apartment | 6.1% | 4.6% | Q650,000 | Q3,300 | Q16,000 | 93% | 24 days | Students and first-job tenants | Price-sensitive tenant churn | Top Pick |
| 4 | Zona 12 / Avenida Petapa | 2-bedroom apartment | 6.1% | 4.6% | Q850,000 | Q4,300 | Q20,000 | 94% | 22 days | Young families and students | Parking-heavy service charges | Top Pick |
| 5 | Zona 13 / Aurora | Studio apartment | 5.8% | 4.2% | Q780,000 | Q3,800 | Q20,000 | 92% | 24 days | Airport-linked professionals and singles | Noise sensitivity near the airport | Strong Potential |
| 6 | Zona 13 / Aurora | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.8% | 4.3% | Q980,000 | Q4,700 | Q24,000 | 93% | 22 days | Corporate renters and airline staff | Mixed-quality building stock | Strong Potential |
| 7 | Zona 12 / Avenida Petapa | 3-bedroom apartment | 5.7% | 4.1% | Q1,150,000 | Q5,500 | Q26,000 | 91% | 31 days | Family households near universities | Slower leasing for larger units | Strong Potential |
| 8 | Zona 11 / Mariscal | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.7% | 4.4% | Q820,000 | Q3,900 | Q18,000 | 93% | 23 days | Hospital staff and young couples | Older-building maintenance surprises | Strong Potential |
| 9 | Zona 11 / Mariscal | 2-bedroom apartment | 5.7% | 4.3% | Q1,100,000 | Q5,200 | Q24,000 | 94% | 21 days | Young families and hospital workers | Competition from new projects nearby | Strong Potential |
| 10 | Zona 10 | Studio apartment | 5.7% | 4.0% | Q1,100,000 | Q5,200 | Q24,000 | 92% | 25 days | Medical staff and consultants | Premium pricing limits net yield | Strong Potential |
| 11 | Zona 9 | Studio apartment | 5.6% | 4.0% | Q900,000 | Q4,200 | Q22,000 | 91% | 27 days | Single professionals near offices | Older stock competing against new towers | Good Potential |
| 12 | Zona 16 (non-Cayala) | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.6% | 4.1% | Q900,000 | Q4,200 | Q20,000 | 92% | 25 days | University-linked singles and couples | Car dependence limits the tenant pool | Good Potential |
| 13 | Zona 9 | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.4% | 4.0% | Q1,150,000 | Q5,200 | Q26,000 | 92% | 25 days | Young professionals and consultants | Traffic affects tenant retention | Good Potential |
| 14 | Zona 10 | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.4% | 4.0% | Q1,450,000 | Q6,500 | Q30,000 | 93% | 22 days | Executives and foreign professionals | High HOA in amenity-heavy towers | Good Potential |
| 15 | Zona 15 / Vista Hermosa | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.4% | 4.0% | Q1,250,000 | Q5,600 | Q26,000 | 94% | 21 days | Students near UFM and young professionals | Many similar new apartment launches | Good Potential |
| 16 | Zona 16 (non-Cayala) | 2-bedroom apartment | 5.4% | 4.0% | Q1,250,000 | Q5,600 | Q26,000 | 93% | 23 days | Young families and professionals | New-project competition in the zone | Good Potential |
| 17 | Zona 14 | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.3% | 4.0% | Q1,300,000 | Q5,700 | Q28,000 | 94% | 20 days | Young professionals in premium towers | Elevated maintenance fees | Good Potential |
| 18 | Zona 4 / 4 Grados Norte | 2-bedroom apartment | 5.2% | 3.2% | Q1,750,000 | Q7,600 | Q34,000 | 92% | 33 days | Roommates and dual-income couples | Pipeline of similar units in the area | Good Potential |
| 19 | Zona 11 / Mariscal | 3-bedroom apartment | 5.2% | 3.6% | Q1,500,000 | Q6,500 | Q30,000 | 90% | 34 days | Established families needing more space | Slower take-up above the midmarket | Good Potential |
| 20 | Cayala | 1-bedroom apartment | 5.2% | 3.8% | Q1,600,000 | Q6,900 | Q32,000 | 95% | 18 days | High-income singles and executives | Very high entry prices | Good Potential |
| 21 | Zona 13 / Aurora | 2-bedroom apartment | 5.1% | 3.6% | Q1,450,000 | Q6,200 | Q30,000 | 91% | 30 days | Small families and expatriates | Vacancy risk if priced too aggressively | Good Potential |
| 22 | Zona 9 | 2-bedroom apartment | 5.1% | 3.4% | Q1,600,000 | Q6,800 | Q34,000 | 89% | 36 days | Dual-income professionals | Weaker family appeal compared to neighboring zones | Moderate Appeal |
| 23 | Zona 15 / Vista Hermosa | 2-bedroom apartment | 5.0% | 3.5% | Q1,750,000 | Q7,300 | Q34,000 | 93% | 24 days | Dual-income couples and small families | Premium pricing narrows returns | Moderate Appeal |
| 24 | Zona 14 | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.9% | 3.4% | Q1,900,000 | Q7,800 | Q36,000 | 93% | 23 days | Dual-income professionals | High entry price compresses yield | Moderate Appeal |
| 25 | Zona 16 (non-Cayala) | 3-bedroom apartment | 4.9% | 3.3% | Q1,800,000 | Q7,300 | Q36,000 | 90% | 33 days | Families seeking gated communities | Slower take-up at larger sizes | Moderate Appeal |
| 26 | Cayala | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.7% | 3.0% | Q2,500,000 | Q9,800 | Q45,000 | 94% | 20 days | Affluent couples and expatriates | Luxury oversupply risk | Moderate Appeal |
| 27 | Zona 10 | 2-bedroom apartment | 4.6% | 3.1% | Q2,200,000 | Q8,500 | Q40,000 | 90% | 32 days | Corporate couples and roommates | More supply coming from new towers | Moderate Appeal |
| 28 | Zona 15 / Vista Hermosa | 3-bedroom apartment | 4.4% | 2.9% | Q2,700,000 | Q9,800 | Q48,000 | 89% | 38 days | Upmarket family renters | Longer vacancy for large units | Limited Appeal |
| 29 | Zona 14 | 3-bedroom apartment | 4.3% | 2.7% | Q3,200,000 | Q11,500 | Q55,000 | 88% | 40 days | Affluent family households | Thin tenant pool at the top end | Limited Appeal |
| 30 | Cayala | 3-bedroom apartment | 4.2% | 2.3% | Q3,900,000 | Q13,500 | Q65,000 | 90% | 35 days | Wealthy family households | Narrow tenant base at luxury rents | Limited Appeal |
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Key insights about apartment rental yields in Guatemala City
Insights
- Zona 12 / Avenida Petapa produces the best net yields in Guatemala City in 2026, around 4.6%, because purchase prices are low enough to more than compensate for the modest rent levels. A Q650,000 entry price for a 1-bedroom is hard to beat anywhere else in the city.
- In Guatemala City apartments, going up one size almost always costs you yield. Studios and 1-bedroom units in Zona 4 produce gross yields of 6.2% to 6.6%, while 2-bedrooms in the same zone fall to 5.2%. The trade-off in rental income rarely keeps up with the jump in purchase price.
- Cayala rents the fastest of any Guatemala City submarket, with 1-bedroom units leasing in around 18 days, but the yields are only 5.2% gross and 3.8% net. The prestige address attracts tenants quickly but the purchase price is simply too high to make the numbers work well for an income-focused buyer.
- Zona 14 3-bedroom apartments take an average of 40 days to rent and produce only 2.7% net. That is the weakest combination in the entire Guatemala City apartment market. Large luxury apartments here face a very thin pool of tenants who can afford the rents.
- Zona 11 / Mariscal stands out as one of the best balanced markets in Guatemala City, offering 4.3% to 4.4% net yields at moderate purchase prices, with occupancy rates of 90% to 94% and leasing times well under 25 days. It is rarely the top pick in any single metric but scores consistently well across all of them.
- The gap between gross and net yield in Guatemala City can be as wide as 2 to 3 percentage points, mainly because of HOA and maintenance fees. Zona 4 studios show 6.6% gross but only 3.9% net, a 2.7-point drag that comes almost entirely from the amenity costs in these modern towers.
- Zona 13 / Aurora benefits from a specific tenant base that other zones cannot easily replicate: airport workers, airline staff, and corporate renters who need to be close to the Aurora International Airport. This keeps occupancy above 92% and leasing times below 25 days even for 1-bedrooms.
- Outside of Cayala, standard Zona 16 apartments price at a much more accessible level, around Q900,000 for a 1-bedroom, and still produce gross yields of 5.6%. Investors who search broadly for "Zona 16" often end up looking at Cayala prices, which are nearly double. Narrowing the search to non-Cayala stock is one of the clearest ways to improve returns in this part of the city.
- Across the entire Guatemala City apartment table, no 3-bedroom unit produces a net yield above 4.2%. If the goal is rental income rather than capital appreciation, 3-bedroom apartments are consistently the weakest segment in the market.
- Zona 9 2-bedroom apartments combine a below-average occupancy rate of 89% with a 36-day average leasing time and only 3.4% net yield. That puts them in the bottom tier for investor attractiveness, despite being in a reasonably central and well-known part of the city.
- The safest starting point for a first-time foreign buyer looking at Guatemala City residential property in 2026 is a 1-bedroom apartment in Zona 11, Zona 12, Zona 13, or Zona 4. All four zones sit within the Q650,000 to Q1,200,000 purchase range, attract broad and steady tenant demand, and produce net yields of 3.9% to 4.6%.
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About our methodology
We also believe it is important to show our reasoning. It is one of the ways we make our work solid, transparent, and rigorous, just as you will see in our real estate pack about Guatemala City.
First, please note that this data is updated regularly, so what you see here reflects the current values as of today.
In order to get reliable data, we applied a strict source filter. We only used authoritative, verifiable sources, not random listings or unsupported figures. More on that point below.
For each Guatemala City neighborhood and apartment type, we aggregated the freshest purchase price and monthly rent data available from current listing portals. When possible, we cross-checked multiple sources to confirm the same range.
This allowed us to estimate rental yield before costs. That is the gross yield, based on annual rent versus purchase price.
We then estimated rental yield after costs. That is the net yield, after recurring ownership and operating expenses.
These expenses vary meaningfully across Guatemala City zones. That is why two apartments at similar rent levels can still produce different net returns depending on where they sit.
For example, modern apartment towers in Zona 4 and Cayala typically carry higher HOA and amenity costs, while older-stock buildings in Zona 11 and Zona 9 may carry lower monthly fees but higher one-off maintenance costs over time. In student-oriented markets like Zona 12, higher tenant turnover also adds friction costs.
We estimated annual ownership fees by combining the main recurring costs linked to each Guatemala City asset: municipal property tax (IUSI), building HOA or condominium fees where applicable, routine maintenance, insurance, and an allowance for vacancy friction. These estimates were adjusted by neighborhood and property type, not applied as one flat number across the city.
Occupancy rates and average leasing times are estimates inferred from current inventory depth, tenant demand concentration, and pricing competitiveness across Guatemala City zones. They are not drawn from an officially published series, since no such series exists at the neighborhood level in Guatemala City.
This table should therefore be read as a structured market estimate, not as an exact guarantee of future performance. Honesty, quality, and rigor are at the core of our work, and they are also what you will find in our real estate pack about Guatemala City.
What sources have we used to write this blog article?
Whether it's in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our real estate pack about Guatemala City, we rely on verifiable sources and a transparent methodology.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we've listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.
| Source | Why it is authoritative | How we used it |
|---|---|---|
| Banco de Guatemala - Tipo de Cambio | It is Guatemala's central bank and the official source for reference exchange rates. | We used it to convert USD-denominated listing prices and rents into quetzales on a consistent March 2026 basis. This allowed all cross-neighborhood comparisons to be made in one currency without distortion. |
| Banco de Guatemala - Inflacion | It is the central bank's official inflation tracker for Guatemala. | We used it to sense-check nominal asking-rent growth and avoid mixing stale listing assumptions with current data. This kept our March 2026 Guatemala City rent estimates aligned with the actual macro backdrop. |
| Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (INE) | It is Guatemala's national statistics office and the primary source for population and housing baseline data. | We used it as the official reference for housing and population context across Guatemala City. We also used it to confirm that no detailed official neighborhood-level apartment rent series is published in Guatemala. |
| Municipalidad de Guatemala - City Map | It is the Guatemala City municipality's own mapping resource. | We used it to confirm the geographic boundaries and zone definitions used in local real estate practice. This ensured that all selected apartment corridors in our analysis sit clearly within Guatemala City's official limits. |
| Municipalidad de Guatemala - Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial (POT) | It is the city's official land-use and urban planning portal. | We used it to understand Guatemala City's urban structure and identify which zones carry the most concentrated vertical housing supply. This helped frame where new apartment inventory is most likely to affect future yields. |
| Encuentra24 - Guatemala City apartments for sale | It is one of the largest active residential property listing portals in Central America. | We used it as the main citywide sale-market reference for Guatemala City apartment asking prices. We cross-checked it by zone and unit size to build the purchase price estimates in our table. |
| Encuentra24 - Guatemala City apartments for rent | It is one of the largest active rental listing portals serving the Guatemala City market. | We used it as the main citywide rent-market reference for apartment asking rents. We compared rent positioning by unit size and zone to build the monthly rent estimates in our table. |
| Encuentra24 - Zona 12 apartment listings | It is a live zone-specific listing source for one of Guatemala City's most accessible apartment markets. | We used it to estimate purchase prices and rental demand around Avenida Petapa in Zona 12. We also used it to identify where lower entry prices produce the strongest net yields in the city. |
| Encuentra24 - Zona 4 apartment listings | It is a live zone-specific listing source for the 4 Grados Norte apartment corridor. | We used it to estimate pricing for Zona 4 studios and 1-bedrooms. We also used it to assess how new supply from similar towers affects the competitive yield picture in this zone. |
| Encuentra24 - Cayala apartment listings | It is a live listing set focused on one of Guatemala City's best-known premium apartment clusters in Zona 16. | We used it to isolate Cayala pricing from the broader Zona 16 market, since buyers frequently search for Cayala separately. We also used it to test how premium branding lifts rents relative to the very high entry prices in this submarket. |
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