Medellin real estate: Zone 2

Poblado Medellin

Medellin real estate – Zone 2 is far and away the most upscale zone in Medellin. It is home to Medellin’s banking and hotel district, many of it’s finest Universities, several upscale malls and the famous Zona Rosa, the center of nightlife and fine dining in Medellin. Needless to say, Zone 2 is also where I have my apartment. While Zone 2 is made up of many different barrios, El Poblado and Envigado are two of the biggest and, not surprisingly, have far and away the highest concentration of North American and European residents.

El Poblado, which translates to “the village” in Spanish, is divided into 22 seperate, yet often indistinguishable sub-barrios and has a population of nearly 100,000. Real estate prices in El Poblado have risen sharply over the last few years, yet the average price for a very nice apartment in this area is still only around $120,000.

Poblado map

Compare that to the average price for a luxury condo in the U.S. or even Panama and you can see why we think Medellin could truly be the next hot real estate market. Unlike Panama however, Medellin and especially Poblado is a highly organized and well-oiled machine. Traffic moves about freely most of the time and a large part of the wiring for cable and electricity are buried underground. The street lights were designed by a famous architect and even the trash cans and park benches have a modern design. It is rare to see any trash on the streets or sidewalks. In fact, El Poblado is one of the cleanest city neighborhoods that I have ever seen, the U.S. included.

Envigado Medellin

Envigado is another nice neighborhood which borders Poblado to the South. Enviagado is a bit larger than Poblado with an estimated population of 180,000 and is equally as nice and clean. In fact, although Poblado is known as being Medellin’s nicest neighborhood, residents of Envigado often beg to differ. I have spent alot of time in both places and can say that it is virtually a toss-up. Like Poblado, Envigado has many beautiful and wooded parks, wonderful restaurants, nightclubs and shopping. Real estate prices in Envigado may be slightly lower per square meter than Poblado, but don’t expect big discounts from similar properties in Poblado. Envigado has a nice mix of large apartment complexes and single family homes. Many of Medellin’s newest and most luxurious real estate projects are being built in the upper most sections of Envigado where the views are nothing short of spectacular.