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SUMMARY
A Santa Marta apartment can currently generate around 6%–7% gross rental yield, while a realistic net return is usually closer to 4%–5%.
The citywide average hides a big size effect. Compact 1-bedroom units can reach gross yields above 7%, while larger 2-bedroom apartments often fall into the mid-5% range because purchase prices rise faster than rents.
The Rodadero corridor currently gives investors the best mix of mathematical yield and understandable rental demand. Rodadero Sur, El Rodadero and Rodadero Reservado can push small-unit gross yields toward 7.5%–7.7%, with modeled net returns a little above 5%.
Premium coastal addresses do not automatically produce premium returns. Bello Horizonte and Pozos Colorados can collect higher rents, but the extra purchase price and condominium fees often drag net yields down toward 3%–4%.
A 7% gross yield is not a 7% owner return. Rental management, administration, vacancy and repairs can remove roughly two percentage points, which turns a seemingly strong deal into something closer to 4.5%–5% net.
Condo fees are one of the easiest costs to underestimate. In some coastal buildings, administration alone can absorb close to 1% of the property value every year before taxes, repairs or management are paid.
Airbnb can beat a long-term lease, but the citywide data does not justify aggressive underwriting. Current occupancy around 46%, lower average nightly rates and meaningful management costs make building-level rental history much more useful than holiday-rate projections.
The recent improvement in Santa Marta short-term rentals looks partly supply-driven. Occupancy and revenue per active listing rose while active listings fell sharply, so stronger performance does not necessarily mean the whole market suddenly gained pricing power.
Tourism demand is strong enough to support vacation rentals, but demand shifts between neighborhoods depending on events and visitor type. Rodadero can be busy without always being the highest-occupancy area in the city.
For a yield-first investor, the best current setup is usually a compact apartment bought well, with low administration, proven rental demand and a building that handles water supply reliably. Getting above 5% net is possible, but it should be treated as a strong deal rather than the Santa Marta default.
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What rental yield can a Santa Marta apartment realistically get today?
A Santa Marta apartment can currently generate around 6%–7% gross rental yield, while a realistic net return is usually closer to 4%–5.5%.
The latest Global Property Guide data puts Santa Marta's average gross apartment yield at 6.44%. Its 1-bedroom sample reaches 7.34%, while 2-bedroom apartments average just 5.54%. Those figures come from current asking rents and asking sale prices collected from Colombian property portals.
That size gap already tells us something important. Smaller apartments are generally much more efficient as rentals because buyers pay substantially more for extra bedrooms without getting the same percentage increase in rent.
A second Santa Marta dataset built from neighborhood-level prices and rents reaches a similar range. Its strongest modeled studios in the Rodadero corridor produce roughly 7%–7.7% gross and about 5%–5.4% after recurring operating costs. More expensive beach apartments often fall closer to 3%–4.5% net.
We would therefore use 6%–7% gross as the normal range today. A genuine 7.5%–8% gross deal is very good. Anything much higher deserves careful checking because there is usually a reason: an unusually low purchase price, optimistic rent assumptions, a problematic building or short-term rental revenue being presented without its operating costs.
| Santa Marta apartment | Typical gross yield | Plausible net yield | How we would read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average apartment | 6%–7% | 4%–5% | Normal current range |
| Strong small apartment | 7%–8% | 5%–5.5% | Very good |
| Typical larger 2BR | 5.5%–6.5% | 3.5%–4.5% | Fair |
| Premium beachfront unit | 5%–6% | 3%–4% | Weak for pure income |
| 8%+ gross deal | 8%+ | Depends heavily on costs | Needs investigation |
Where can an apartment get the highest rental yield in Santa Marta?
The strongest apartment yields in Santa Marta are currently concentrated around Rodadero Sur, El Rodadero, Rodadero Reservado and selected parts of Gaira and Playa Salguero.
Rodadero Sur studios sit near the top of the neighborhood dataset at around 7.7% gross and 5.4% modeled net. El Rodadero is almost identical at roughly 7.7% gross and 5.2% net. Rodadero Reservado follows around 7.5% gross and 5.1% net.
Playa Salguero can still work surprisingly well despite higher purchase prices. Small units have been modeled around 7.5% gross and 5% net, although results fall quickly as apartments get larger.
Bello Horizonte and Pozos Colorados usually produce lower yields. Small units can still reach gross returns around the high-6% range, but expensive administration and much higher purchase prices push modeled net returns closer to 4%–4.3%.
The price gap explains most of it. Premium coastal inventory in Bello Horizonte and Pozos Colorados can easily command COP 7 million to COP 12 million per square metre. Rodadero generally costs less while still having deep tourist recognition, restaurants, beach access and a large rental market.
Gaira deserves a mention because cheaper purchase prices can produce strong mathematical yields. We would still rank the Rodadero cluster higher for most foreign investors because tenant demand and eventual resale are easier to understand.
| Area | Small-unit gross yield | Small-unit net yield | Main issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodadero Sur | ~7.7% | ~5.4% | Older-building risk |
| El Rodadero | ~7.7% | ~5.2% | Heavy rental competition |
| Rodadero Reservado | ~7.5% | ~5.1% | Building quality varies |
| Playa Salguero | ~7.5% | ~5.0% | Higher purchase price |
| Gaira | ~7.1% | ~5.0% | Less obvious resale market |
| Bello Horizonte | ~6.9% | ~4.3% | High purchase price and fees |
| Pozos Colorados | ~6.7% | ~4.0% | Luxury premium hurts yield |
Get fresh and reliable data on the Santa Marta property market
The corridor out to Pozos Colorados sells sea view towers at a price the season cannot pay for. Where asking prices sit furthest from what units actually earn and resell for, project by project.
Are studios more profitable than larger apartments in Santa Marta?
Studios and compact 1-bedroom apartments currently beat larger Santa Marta apartments on rental yield by a clear margin.
The numbers are consistent across almost every major coastal neighborhood. In Rodadero Sur, modeled net yield drops from roughly 5.4% for a studio to 4.9% for a 1-bedroom and 4.4% for a 2-bedroom.
El Rodadero falls from about 5.2% to 4.7% and then 4.1%. Playa Salguero moves from roughly 5% for a studio to 4.6% for a 1-bedroom and 4% for a 2-bedroom.
The reason is simple when we put actual pesos behind it. A modeled Rodadero Sur studio costs around COP 280 million and rents for approximately COP 1.8 million a month. A 2-bedroom costs about COP 570 million and rents for around COP 3.1 million.
The buyer spends another COP 290 million but collects only COP 1.3 million more rent each month. The larger apartment earns more money in absolute terms while making the invested capital work less efficiently.
Global Property Guide's latest citywide figures show the same pattern from another dataset. Its Santa Marta 1-bedroom sample produces 7.34% gross, compared with only 5.54% for 2-bedroom apartments.
For a buyer focused primarily on yield, we would start the search around efficient studios and 1-bedroom units rather than assuming that more bedrooms mean more profit.
| Area | Studio net yield | 1BR net yield | 2BR net yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodadero Sur | ~5.4% | ~4.9% | ~4.4% |
| El Rodadero | ~5.2% | ~4.7% | ~4.1% |
| Rodadero Reservado | ~5.1% | ~4.7% | ~4.0% |
| Playa Salguero | ~5.0% | ~4.6% | ~4.0% |
| Bello Horizonte | ~4.3% | ~4.0% | ~3.5% |
| Pozos Colorados | ~4.0% | ~3.7% | ~3.2% |
Do current Santa Marta rents really support 6%–7% yields?
Current Santa Marta rent and sale data broadly supports a 6%–7% gross yield, although individual buildings can land well outside that range.
Global Property Guide's latest dataset puts the median asking rent for a Santa Marta 2-bedroom at about $840 a month. That is unusually high by Colombian standards: the same dataset shows roughly $780 in Cartagena and $680 in Bogotá.
The purchase-price side explains why Santa Marta does not automatically produce huge yields despite those rents. The Global Property Guide sample values a typical Santa Marta 2-bedroom around $181,900, which produces its 5.54% gross result.
Local listings show more variation. Recent Rodadero apartments around 60 m² have been marketed for roughly COP 2.2 million to COP 2.4 million a month, with larger or better-located units moving closer to COP 3 million.
On the sale side, asking prices for ordinary Rodadero apartments commonly sit in the COP 400 million to COP 600 million range, while premium Playa Salguero inventory can climb far beyond that. Santa Marta's municipal real-estate observatory recently showed Rodadero listings around COP 550 million–570 million and Playa Salguero inventory around COP 880 million.
The market therefore supports 6%–7% gross quite comfortably, but buyers still need to compare the rent and purchase price of the same type of apartment. Mixing the rent of a beautifully renovated unit with the purchase price of an older one is an easy way to manufacture an unrealistic yield.
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How much do condo fees eat into Santa Marta rental yields?
Condo fees can remove roughly one percentage point of yield on their own in Santa Marta, and expensive resort buildings can take considerably more.
Recent listings make the problem easy to see. A 77 m² Playa Salguero apartment marketed for COP 840 million comes with a COP 695,000 monthly administration charge. That is COP 8.34 million a year before the owner pays property tax, insurance, repairs or rental management.
The annual administration bill alone equals almost 1% of the entire apartment price.
On a smaller property, the percentage can be worse. We found recent coastal listings where monthly administration approached COP 700,000 on units costing well below COP 500 million. Once the fee gets near COP 8 million a year, an apparently attractive rental spread starts disappearing quickly.
Older Rodadero buildings can have the opposite advantage. Some smaller apartments come with administration below COP 300,000 a month, helping explain why older stock occasionally produces better net yields than newer resort projects.
The cheap fee still needs checking. An older building that has postponed elevator repairs, waterproofing, façade work or pipe replacement can suddenly issue a large special assessment. In a coastal environment, salt corrosion adds another layer of maintenance risk.
We care about the building almost as much as the apartment. A COP 400 million property with sensible administration can outperform a COP 350 million bargain in a condominium with weak finances.
What does a 7% gross Santa Marta yield become after real expenses?
A 7% gross Santa Marta rental yield will often finish around 4.5%–5% net once normal expenses are included.
Take a COP 400 million apartment producing COP 28 million in annual rent. On paper, the yield is exactly 7%.
Santa Marta's Chamber of Commerce recognizes 10% of rent as the local customary commission for residential rental administration. Using a manager therefore removes COP 2.8 million immediately.
Suppose the owner's share of condominium administration costs another COP 4 million a year. Allow a further COP 2 million for vacancy, minor repairs and replacement reserves. The remaining income is roughly COP 19.2 million before the owner's personal income tax.
That gives a 4.8% net yield.
The exact result changes from apartment to apartment, but the order of magnitude is the important part. The latest Global Property Guide methodology also estimates that net Colombian rental yields are commonly around 1.5 to 2 percentage points below the headline gross number.
As seen above, the Santa Marta neighborhood models reach almost exactly the same conclusion. Gross returns near 7.5% often become net returns around 5%.
| COP 400m apartment example | Annual amount | Yield |
|---|---|---|
| Gross rent | COP 28.0m | 7.0% |
| Rental management | -COP 2.8m | -0.7% |
| Owner building costs | -COP 4.0m | -1.0% |
| Vacancy and repair reserve | -COP 2.0m | -0.5% |
| Net before personal tax | COP 19.2m | 4.8% |
The zones and projects in Santa Marta that are most overpriced
The corridor out to Pozos Colorados sells sea view towers at a price the season cannot pay for. Where asking prices sit furthest from what units actually earn and resell for, project by project.
Can Airbnb beat a long-term rental in Santa Marta right now?
Airbnb can beat a long-term Santa Marta rental, but today's citywide numbers are nowhere near strong enough to assume that it will.
AirDNA's latest completed data tracks 6,999 active short-term rentals in Santa Marta. Average annual revenue is about $10,900, occupancy sits at 46%, the average daily rate is $71 and RevPAR is $33.
The 46% occupancy figure is the one we would pay the most attention to. It means an average listing sells fewer than half of its available nights.
AirDNA also gives Santa Marta an 88 out of 100 seasonality score, suggesting demand is more evenly spread through the year than in many highly seasonal beach destinations. That helps, but average occupancy remains modest.
The short-term market has improved lately. AirDNA shows occupancy up 21.1% year over year and RevPAR up 13.3%. Yet the average nightly rate fell 16.8%, while the number of active listings dropped 34.5%.
Some of the improvement per active listing appears to come from fewer properties competing for guests rather than from owners suddenly gaining much more pricing power.
For a strong apartment with tourist authorization, good reviews and professional operations, Airbnb can still produce an excellent result. We simply would not underwrite a purchase using peak holiday rates multiplied across the whole year.
| Santa Marta short-term rental metric | Latest level |
|---|---|
| Active listings | 6,999 |
| Average occupancy | 46% |
| Average daily rate | $71 |
| RevPAR | $33 |
| Average annual revenue | $10,900 |
| Occupancy change YoY | +21.1% |
| ADR change YoY | -16.8% |
| Active listings change YoY | -34.5% |
Is Santa Marta's Airbnb market actually getting stronger?
Santa Marta's Airbnb market is performing better per active listing lately, although the improvement looks partly driven by a much smaller supply base.
AirDNA's latest figures show average annual revenue per active rental up 86.4% year over year. At first glance, that looks extraordinary.
The rest of the dataset makes the story more complicated. Active supply fell 34.5%, occupancy rose 21.1% and average nightly rates declined 16.8%.
If demand had simply exploded, we would normally expect owners to fill more nights while maintaining or increasing their nightly price. Santa Marta is filling more nights but charging less on average, with far fewer active properties in the dataset.
The cleanest interpretation is that conditions have improved for the listings still operating, while competition and pricing remain tough.
We are more confident in the absolute figures than in the eye-catching growth percentage. Current occupancy around 46%, ADR around $71 and RevPAR around $33 give us a much better base for underwriting an apartment than the 86% revenue-growth headline.
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Is Santa Marta tourism strong enough to support apartment rentals?
Santa Marta currently has plenty of tourism demand to support a large vacation-rental market, but tourist traffic moves around the city much more than investors sometimes assume.
A recent Fiesta del Mar brought 117,334 visitors to Santa Marta over seven days, according to the city's economic observatory and Cotelco. Hotel occupancy reached 62.9%, and estimated visitor spending was close to COP 106 billion.
The interesting part was where people stayed. Centro Histórico reached 77.1% occupancy, the nature corridor 66.7%, the southern tourism corridor 62.4%, Taganga 56.3% and El Rodadero 52.4%.
That result is useful because Rodadero is usually one of the first places investors associate with Santa Marta tourism. During that particular event, the historic center easily outperformed it because most activities were taking place nearby.
Tourism gives Santa Marta a strong rental foundation without guaranteeing strong occupancy for every beach apartment.
The same logic applies during other periods. Families, domestic holidaymakers, international tourists, digital workers and event visitors do not necessarily choose the same neighborhood or apartment type.
For Airbnb buyers, micro-location still matters enormously even in a city receiving large numbers of visitors.
Are expensive beachfront apartments worse rental investments in Santa Marta?
Premium beachfront apartments in Santa Marta usually produce lower cash yields because their purchase prices have risen much further than their rents.
Pozos Colorados shows the problem clearly. A modeled 2-bedroom there costs around COP 900 million and rents for approximately COP 4.25 million a month, producing about 5.7% gross and only 3.2% modeled net.
A comparable Rodadero Sur 2-bedroom costs around COP 570 million and rents for roughly COP 3.1 million. Its gross yield is around 6.5%, with a net return closer to 4.4%.
The Pozos Colorados apartment collects COP 1.15 million more rent every month, but the investor needs another COP 330 million to buy it.
That extra COP 330 million generates just COP 13.8 million in additional annual rent, equivalent to roughly 4.2% gross before any extra condominium fees or operating costs.
Recent listings reinforce the same pattern. Playa Salguero resort apartments can approach COP 800 million–900 million for fairly ordinary 2-bedroom layouts, with administration around COP 700,000 a month.
Those properties may still make sense for buyers who value a newer building, direct beach access, personal use or long-term appreciation. For someone whose main goal is rental income, smaller Rodadero-area apartments currently make the capital work harder.
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How much does professional Airbnb management reduce the yield in Santa Marta?
Professional Airbnb management can wipe out 20%–30% of Santa Marta booking revenue before the owner pays most other expenses.
That creates a much larger cost gap than long-term renting. Santa Marta's customary residential rental-management fee is around 10% of rent, while full-service short-term management typically costs roughly twice that amount or more.
Imagine an Airbnb producing COP 40 million of annual booking revenue. A 25% management fee removes COP 10 million.
The owner may still have to cover administration, utilities, internet, maintenance, furniture replacement, air-conditioning repairs, platform costs and taxes. Cleaning may be charged to guests in some properties, but any uncovered amount also reduces the return.
A long-term apartment earning COP 32 million a year could consequently leave the owner with similar net income despite generating far less gross revenue.
Short-term renting makes the most sense when the apartment has enough pricing power and occupancy to create a large revenue premium over a conventional lease. A small difference in gross revenue rarely justifies the additional work and cost.
Can every Santa Marta apartment be rented on Airbnb?
Many Santa Marta apartments cannot simply be placed on Airbnb, so short-term rental permission needs to be checked before we calculate any Airbnb yield.
Colombia requires tourist accommodation operators to comply with the Registro Nacional de Turismo framework, and the condominium's own rules also matter.
This creates real differences between buildings. Current Santa Marta property listings frequently advertise "permiso turístico" as a selling point. Developers and brokers mention it precisely because buyers cannot assume every condominium allows nightly rentals.
A property with tourist authorization can therefore have a materially different income profile from a similar unit nearby whose building restricts short stays.
The safest approach is to obtain the condominium rules and written confirmation of permitted tourist use before buying. Relying on the seller saying that "people already Airbnb here" is weak due diligence.
For an investor comparing two otherwise similar apartments, legal short-term rental flexibility can justify paying somewhat more. Paying a large premium purely for that flexibility is harder to defend unless the building already has a proven rental record.
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Can Santa Marta's water problems hurt apartment rental returns?
Santa Marta's water problems remain a real property-level risk today, although well-equipped coastal buildings can protect tenants and guests from much of the disruption.
The underlying infrastructure issue is serious enough that the national government recently opened the selection process for a major desalination plant intended to strengthen Santa Marta's drinking-water supply.
The wider water and sanitation program is substantial. Government plans include a large desalination facility for southern Santa Marta, improvements to the Mamatoco treatment plant, new water lines, rehabilitation of wells and other infrastructure investments.
Those projects are encouraging, but they also confirm that the existing system still needs major work.
For apartment investors, building-level resilience matters more than citywide headlines. We would check water-storage capacity, backup pumping, recent interruption history and whether the condominium regularly needs tanker deliveries.
A tourist who loses water during a short stay can leave a damaging review. A long-term tenant dealing with repeated service problems may eventually move. Both outcomes can reduce income.
We would accept a slightly lower headline yield in a building with good water storage and competent administration rather than chase an extra half percentage point in a property with recurring utility problems.
So what rental yield should we expect from a Santa Marta apartment?
We would currently underwrite a Santa Marta apartment at roughly 6%–7% gross and 4%–5% net, with around 5%–5.5% net representing a very good rental investment.
The strongest opportunities are usually compact apartments where purchase prices remain reasonable relative to rent. Rodadero Sur, El Rodadero, Rodadero Reservado and selected Playa Salguero units currently stand out on that measure.
A small apartment reaching around 7.5% gross with manageable administration can realistically retain something near 5% after normal operating costs. That is the range we would consider genuinely attractive.
Large luxury apartments are much harder to justify from income alone. Bello Horizonte, Pozos Colorados and expensive resort projects can collect impressive rents, but owners often commit so much more capital that the percentage return falls toward 3%–4% net.
Airbnb can push returns higher in the right building. Current citywide occupancy of 46%, falling nightly rates and substantial management costs make aggressive projections difficult to defend, though. We would want actual building-level rental history before paying extra for an Airbnb investment.
The clearest answer today is around 6%–7% gross for a normal Santa Marta apartment, with 4%–5% being much closer to what the owner can actually keep. Getting above 5% net is possible, especially with a small unit bought well in the Rodadero corridor, but it should be considered a strong deal rather than the default Santa Marta return.
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OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis estimates what rental yield a Santa Marta apartment can realistically achieve by comparing current citywide yield data with neighborhood prices, asking rents, apartment size, condominium costs, long-term rental expenses and short-term rental performance.
We did not treat one headline yield as the answer. Global Property Guide's Santa Marta figures were checked against current local asking-market evidence from the Santa Marta District real-estate observatory, Fincaraíz and Metrocuadrado, while the neighborhood models were used to test how returns change between studios, 1-bedroom apartments and larger units.
Gross yields were then tested against the costs an owner actually carries. For long-term rentals, the analysis uses the Cámara de Comercio de Santa Marta's certified 10% local custom for residential rental administration, together with condominium administration, vacancy and repair reserves. For short-term rentals, AirDNA's occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, annual revenue and active-supply data were used to avoid underwriting from peak nightly rates alone.
Tourism and legal short-term rental flexibility were treated separately from raw yield. Fiesta del Mar occupancy data reported from ODECS and Cotelco helps show how demand shifts between Santa Marta neighborhoods, while Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo guidance on the Registro Nacional de Turismo and propiedad horizontal rules was used to assess whether an apartment can legally operate as tourist accommodation.
Water reliability was included as a property-level operating risk because it can affect guest reviews, tenant retention and building expenses. For that part, we used current information from Ministerio de Vivienda, Superintendencia de Servicios Públicos Domiciliarios and ESSMAR on desalination plans, supply disruptions, alternative water distribution and water-quality readings.
Key sources used for this analysis include: Global Property Guide on Santa Marta rental yields, the Santa Marta District real-estate observatory, Cámara de Comercio de Santa Marta on local rental-management custom, AirDNA on Santa Marta short-term rentals, Caracol Radio on the ODECS and Cotelco Fiesta del Mar data, Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo on the Registro Nacional de Turismo, Ministerio de Vivienda on the desalination project, and ESSMAR on alternative water-supply operations.
Everything a foreign buyer should know before buying in Santa Marta
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