House Hunting in ... Colombia

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By Marcelle Sussman Fischler

A MODERN FOUR-BEDROOM HOME IN BOGOTÁ

$2,080,000 (6,500,000,000 COLOMBIAN PESOS)

On a cul-de-sac in El Refugio, a quiet residential neighborhood north of central Bogotá, this nearly 7,000-square-foot modern painted concrete home, built in 2008, is up a flight of stairs from the street. A gate and a small garden lead to the front door. A separate staircase connects the four-car garage to the kitchen, said Jessica Webster of Engel & Völkers Bogotá, which has the listing.

From a small entrance hall, two steps lead down to a double-height living room with hardwood floors and a gas fireplace. At the far end, a floor-to-ceiling wall of glass with a sliding door opens to a terrace, a barbecue area and gardens. Floor-to-ceiling shelving on one side of the room continues in the library on the mezzanine above, accessible from the master suite.

Two steps up to the right of the living room is a study with a sliding door to the front garden. Beyond the entrance hall, the dining room has a porcelain tile floor and a large window overlooking another garden. To the left are a floor-to-ceiling wine rack and a powder room; a door to the right leads to the Italian-style kitchen. Below its granite countertops are dark wood cabinets; glossy cream-colored cabinets hang above, and the floor is ceramic tile. Stainless-steel appliances include a wide, side-by-side refrigerator and freezer, a dishwasher, microwave and wall oven. A stainless-steel hood is above the gas cooktop. To the other side of a U-shaped counter is a breakfast room overlooking a small Japanese courtyard garden, with a waterfall spilling into a tiny pond. Behind the kitchen are staff quarters with a full bath. An office has outside access and a bathroom.

To the right of the entry foyer, the staircase landing has a large window. Upstairs, the large, carpeted master bedroom suite has floor-to-ceiling glass with a sliding door to a Juliet balcony overlooking the city. Entrance to the library mezzanine is through a door on the left side of the master suite. The skylit ceramic-tiled master bath has a double shower with two rain shower heads, a double vanity with two ceramic sinks and dark wood shelves, and a toilet. A large walk-in closet is beyond the bathroom.

An upstairs den, open to the staircase and three family bedrooms, has sliding louvered doors opening to a backyard with a terrace, steppingstones, a Jacuzzi and a vegetable garden. Two of the three bedrooms have a tiled en-suite bath, each with a single vanity and a shower; the third has a bathroom with a vanity and a tub.

Across the terrace is a free-standing room with a sliding-glass door that can be used as a gym or playroom.

At street level, the property also includes quarters for two additional staff members, a laundry area, a recycling zone and additional storage space. Doors are armored; there are eight security cameras and a panic room.

Along the neighborhood's winding roads, 20 to 30 minutes from the capital city's center, are several embassy residences, said José Miguel Echenique, managing director and partner at Engel & Völkers Bogotá. The house is close to Chico Park, museums, gyms and supermarkets. It also has easy access to the shops and restaurants at El Parque de la 93, a trendy section of the city, and high-end restaurants in the Zona T and Zona G districts. El Dorado International Airport is a 35- to 40-minute drive.

MARKET OVERVIEW

"During, before and after the global turndown, the economy was very solid, so Colombia became a very interesting place for local and foreign investors, both individual investors and companies," said Verónica Dávila, director of Propiedades Julio Corredor, Christie's International Real Estate Colombia.

Starting around 2009, real estate sales boomed, while the country was "performing very well economically and politically" and there was a "very high level" of confidence among local and foreign investors, Ms. Dávila said. But the market started to slow down at the end of 2013, she said.

Still, during the last year, high-end properties, the strongest segment of Bogotá's market, appreciated more than 10 percent, Mr. Echenique said.

The Colombian peso has declined in value by more than 40 percent on average this year, Mr. Echenique said, because of a variety of factors, including the falling price of oil, which Colombia produces and exports. As a result, the real estate market, particularly in Bogotá, developed "an unusual appeal to dollar-paying buyers," he said, making it possible for them to buy a property at a much lower price than previously.

Nevertheless, the number of days residential properties take to sell has increased to 270 days from 180, Ms. Dávila said. Years of "over investing" in real estate led to too many units built and sold for investors. "Now we don't have enough final users," she said, and sales have "become slower and slower," with supply outpacing demand.

"There are many units in the market both for lease and sale, especially in the commercial and residential high-end market," she said. Because there is no available land, older buildings are demolished for new projects, making "the initial costs of the new units to be built higher from the start."

WHO BUYS IN BOGOTÁ

Bogotá is still "a very local market," Ms. Dávila said. In recent years, because of foreign companies investing in Colombia, buyers have come from Spain, Venezuela and Chile, with some Americans and Europeans.

Mr. Echenique said foreign buyers and Colombians living abroad seek the "innovation, design and quality finish" found in the "best and newest buildings" in neighborhoods such as Los Rosales, La Cabrera, Chico, Santa Ana and Santa Barbara.

The largest number of foreign buyers in Colombia are in Cartagena, where most properties in the Old City fetch more than $1 million, Ms. Dávila said.

BUYING BASICS

While there are no special restrictions, foreigners interested in buying property in Colombia should seek "serious and professional real estate counseling," Mr. Echenique said. Buyers are entitled to acquire residency rights or a residency visa.

Real estate transactions are done by a notary. An independent lawyer is recommended.

Most foreign buyers pay cash.

LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

Spanish; Colombian peso (1 peso = $0.00032)

TAXES AND FEES

For 2015, the tax on this house was 13 million pesos, or $4,160.

Fees associated with buying a home in Colombia are approximately 1.5 percent of the purchase value, according to Mr. Echenique. Commissions, paid by the seller, are 3 percent of the purchase value plus tax for urban transactions and 5 percent of the purchase value plus tax on rural transactions, Ms. Dávila said.

WEBSITES

Official Colombia tourism site: colombia.travel

Official government site: colombiaemb.org

Official Bogotá tourism site: bogotaturismo.gov.co

CONTACT

José Miguel Echenique, Engel & Völkers Bogotá, (011-57) 1-3001668; engelvoelkers.com/bogotá

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article contained an erroneous reference to Jessica Webster of Engel & Völkers Bogotá. She supplied some information to the reporter of the article; she did not translate interviews with José Miguel Echenique, the agency's managing director.

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