Post: #1

Hey guys second time posting on the forum. I have been encouraged to give a little back to the forum so a Data Sheet on buying a home in Medellin Colombia was suggested to me.

A little background on my decision to move to Medellin. I had been traveling to South America and Central America the past 6 years looking for areas to buy a home and live 6 months a year. My long term plan had been to live in Latin America 6 months a year and Europe 6 months during the summer.

I had been to the beaches in Costa Rica around 10 times and thought that that was my best option. In hindsight I realize that would have been a bad decision. Costa Rican beaches while beautiful to vacation in is not a great place for meeting and dating high quality Women. Basically the Women who live on the beach tend to be lower quality than San Jose and frankly there are not that many of them.

My next idea was Rio De Janeiro. I personally think Rio is an amazing city and somewhat regret that decision not to buy in Rio in 2012. In the end I already spoke conversational Spanish and didn't want to began learning another language at the time. Prices of real estate are and were extremely high and I couldn't see myself shelling out 500k for a shoebox in a developing economy.

I had a couple other places to buy in mind. I spent 4 months in the Dominican Republic. I traveled the whole country and considered homes on the Northern Beaches, the Samara Peninsula and Santo Domingo. I consider the DR a great country with amazing food and nice people and there are some stunners but in the end its a small island and I couldn't see myself settling down there.

I checked out Panama, Peru, Guatemala and San Salvador but none caught my attention. I had been seeing a lot of hot Women on Latin Cupid from Medellin and thought it was time to check it out. That was the middle of 2011 I believe. I went for 3 days and met a nice Girl and got a brief taste of the City. I liked it and noticed how many good looking Women there were but didn't really consider it for a place to live at the time. In November 2012 I went back and loved it. I staid 2 months. Met a lot of beautiful women and met some good people and basically decided in a week after 6 years of looking thats where I wanted my southern home.

I contacted a few different realtors in the end settled on First American Realty one of the biggest Realtor that focuses on foreign clients. Please In Box me for the name of the realtor however I think he works for himself now. I would be happy to pass his name along to whoever needs it. I consider my realtor to have been a honest person, he had all basic info that you would expect from Western realtors. Price comparisons and square meter prices of recently sold property. Couple of things that you will want to take particular care of. In Colombia everything needs to be inventoried in the apartment. For instance I had to renegotiate after the deal closed because the owners tried to remove all the light fixtures, mirrors, and kitchen vents. Basically all these items were considered included in the properties that I have bought in the United States but not in Colombia so make sure your realtor and attorney do a good inventory of what will stay before closing the deal.

When trying to decide on the right area of the city I would consider if you plan on buying a car or Motorcycle or using public transportation and taxis. My opinion is that in Poblado you should consider how far up the hills you want to live. I like the option to be able to walk whenever I want and not rely on Taxis so I like Castropol as an area. Quiet but within walking distance and not to high up the hill to be difficult to walk. Laureles is flat and while I think its a great area to hang out I would not want to live there because I think you get more guys on motos robbing in that area. Dont fool yourself, people from Medellin love there city but they are afraid of her too.

Prices have rose the past few years but so has the US Dollar so I think for 250k you can find an incredible penthouse 3 bed 3 bath. 150k gets you a decent area of Poblado 3 beds normal apartment in a nice buiding with pool and steam room. I think you can still find nice places in Poblado from 75k to 150k but generally speaking they wont be the nicest areas of Poblado and it will be an older building.

Keep in mind when you consider vacation rental income that pretty much anything can be rented in Poblado, less so in Laureles, Envigado and Belen. Basically is you want secure vacation rental income you should stay in the area of the Zone Rosa, Mile De Oro, Patio Bonito, Castropol. Im sure rentals in Las Plamas are rented easily but the top areas for rentals I believe are the areas mentioned.

Normally whatever company you use to manage you apartment will pay all the bills including taxes for you. My taxes run around 1500 US a year for a 3 bed 3 bath 1600 square foot penthouse in strata 6. My Monthly association dues are 200 US a month and that includes 24 hour security and heated pool.

Ok Im fading fast. Hope this can help anyone considering buying a place in Medellin. Please feel free to email me or post with any questions. I appreciate all the great info on this site. Hope I can give back more in the future.

Post: #2

Great post. And congratulations, Medellin is an amazing city.

Post: #3

Awesome stuff. A 1,600 square foot 3 bedroom 3 bath in a prime area of Medellin for $250K or so is crazy.

Do you rent your place out for the 6 months you are gone? Can you break that down a bit? Do you rent it as a vacation rental, or 6 month contracts? About what can you rent it out for per month?

Also, what are the laws with Foreigners owning property and condos there?

Thanks man. Great post. Really appreciate it.

Post: #4

Great post. This kind of information is lacking on the forum. I spent a few months in poblado and the hills and congestion got to me. Castropol is a nice spot. I have a Colombian friend who bought and nice three bedroom apartment with 24 hour security. Best of luck

Post: #5

(02-16-2015 01:19 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  Awesome stuff. A 1,600 square foot 3 bedroom 3 bath in a prime area of Medellin for $250K or so is crazy.

Do you rent your place out for the 6 months you are gone? Can you break that down a bit? Do you rent it as a vacation rental, or 6 month contracts? About what can you rent it out for per month?

Also, what are the laws with Foreigners owning property and condos there?

Thanks man. Great post. Really appreciate it.

RioNomad, ROI on real estate is good in Medellin at least for the time being. I use a vacation rental company to manage my property when I leave. They usually do monthly rentals and get between 2200 and 2400USD per month. Weekly rentals would fetch close to 1000 a week however they do involve some risk. Two issues are the association in which you live could potentially pass covenants limiting your rights to rent it out and the potential for damage to the property obviously goes up bringing in shorter term renters.

In addition while I dont not understand Colombian law completely governing rentals I do believe its actually illegal to rent apartments for less than a month at a time but it is widely practiced so its only a problem in theory.

The rental companies that i have used in Medellin charge anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent depending on the company. Buyer be ware when looking for a company. I have had many problems in the past and would be happy to warn and recommend anyone in the market for a company Inbox.

Post: #6

(02-16-2015 06:54 AM)floridamedellin Wrote:  

(02-16-2015 01:19 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  Awesome stuff. A 1,600 square foot 3 bedroom 3 bath in a prime area of Medellin for $250K or so is crazy.

Do you rent your place out for the 6 months you are gone? Can you break that down a bit? Do you rent it as a vacation rental, or 6 month contracts? About what can you rent it out for per month?

Also, what are the laws with Foreigners owning property and condos there?

Thanks man. Great post. Really appreciate it.

RioNomad, ROI on real estate is good in Medellin at least for the time being. I use a vacation rental company to manage my property when I leave. They usually do monthly rentals and get between 2200 and 2400USD per month. Weekly rentals would fetch close to 1000 a week however they do involve some risk. Two issues are the association in which you live could potentially pass covenants limiting your rights to rent it out and the potential for damage to the property obviously goes up bringing in shorter term renters.

In addition while I dont not understand Colombian law completely governing rentals I do believe its actually illegal to rent apartments for less than a month at a time but it is widely practiced so its only a problem in theory.

The rental companies that i have used in Medellin charge anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent depending on the company. Buyer be ware when looking for a company. I have had many problems in the past and would be happy to warn and recommend anyone in the market for a company Inbox.

The buying process was straight forward and didnt present any issues buying property as a foreigner. I used an attorney that cost around 1000US and used a brokerage firm to transfer the money. I brought the price down to 5 pesos per dollar transferred and exchanged. They asked 10 pesos.

Post: #7

I dunno bro..... I was talking to a Irish girl just yesterday and she told me about the biggest problem with Medellin and it just didnt sound like somewhere I would want to go. She said the city itself was amazing except for one problem..... the women are to hot. It sounds horrible, to have to deal with such things.

Post: #8

(02-16-2015 07:56 AM)Cr33pin Wrote:  I dunno bro..... I was talking to a Irish girl just yesterday and she told me about the biggest problem with Medellin and it just didnt sound like somewhere I would want to go. She said the city itself was amazing except for one problem..... the women are to hot. It sounds horrible, to have to deal with such things.

Its a tough city to be a female no doubt

Post: #9

Good stuff.....I am currently looking to buy in Bogota, have many friends here that have purchased condo's....this market is one that I only see going up and up as this country stabilizes. One close friend has already seen their condo here in Bogota almost double in value in the short span of 5 years.

My biggest issue is financing as most my money is tied up in stocks, and ETF's, almost all banks in the USA will not lend a federal backed loan on international properties unless you have some major form of collateral. Currently home lending rates in Colombia is around 11%....thats tough to swallow.

Another colleague of mine sold his property in Panama City and bought his Bogota condo for cash....this was over a year an half ago when the dollar vs the peso was in the 1850-1950 range.....today it is close to 2400 cop .....he would of saved $30,000 USD just on the exchange rate .....hard to time but it is a good time to buy if you have Dollars!!!

Post: #10

(02-16-2015 09:38 AM)Tully Mars Wrote:  Good stuff.....I am currently looking to buy in Bogota, have many friends here that have purchased condo's....this market is one that I only see going up and up as this country stabilizes. One close friend has already seen their condo here in Bogota almost double in value in the short span of 5 years.

My biggest issue is financing as most my money is tied up in stocks, and ETF's, almost all banks in the USA will not lend a federal backed loan on international properties unless you have some major form of collateral. Currently home lending rates in Colombia is around 11%....thats tough to swallow.

Another colleague of mine sold his property in Panama City and bought his Bogota condo for cash....this was over a year an half ago when the dollar vs the peso was in the 1850-1950 range.....today it is close to 2400 cop .....he would of saved $30,000 USD just on the exchange rate .....hard to time but it is a good time to buy if you have Dollars!!!

Same situation with me I bought in at the end of 2012 around the 1800 range and now its at 2400 but the market has appreciated 20 to 30 percent in that time as well so its about a wash. Being that I never plan on repatriating my money what the dollar does has very little to do with what the peso does. The only concern I have is high inflation but with high inflation means higher interest rates on saving in the Colombian banks so again high inflation can be hedged

Post: #11

@floridamedellin

I've heard there are income tax consequences from owning an apartment in Colombia. Could you confirm or deny that? What are the consequences, if any?

Post: #12

(02-16-2015 11:42 AM)newgame Wrote:  @floridamedellin

I've heard there are income tax consequences from owning an apartment in Colombia. Could you confirm or deny that? What are the consequences, if any?

I have an accountant handle my US income tax and yes the income from my vacation rental is taxed by the US Government but there is a tax credit involved as well. Tax consequences come from earning income fortunately. As too the details of the taxation I cannot tell you I never looked into it very much. However its doubtful they will repeal these tax laws because expatriates and those with foreign income dont have a voice much of a voice in Government

Post: #13

(02-16-2015 06:49 AM)Dantes Wrote:  Great post. This kind of information is lacking on the forum. I spent a few months in poblado and the hills and congestion got to me. Castropol is a nice spot. I have a Colombian friend who bought and nice three bedroom apartment with 24 hour security. Best of luck

You hit on probably my biggest complaint about Medellin. The congestion and smog bothers me. Unfortunately the only way to get away from it is go further up the hill.

Post: #14

Can you touch on citizenship in Colombia? Is it 150k or 200k that you have to spend on real-estate to become a citizen?

As far as Rio, I think the housing market will crash after the 2016 Olympics. I banged a girl who was paying 1500 usd a month to live in a shoebox in Copacabana. .

Post: #15

(02-16-2015 01:52 PM)LINUX Wrote:  Can you touch on citizenship in Colombia? Is it 150k or 200k that you have to spend on real-estate to become a citizen?

As far as Rio, I think the housing market will crash after the 2016 Olympics. I banged a girl who was paying 1500 usd a month to live in a shoebox in Copacabana. .

Citizenship is something I never considered in Colombia. I don't see any benefits. The Colombian passport would not be my first choice of colors to be carrying through airport security. As far as Residency I have seen one real estate company claim that as little as a 30k US investment you can have a yearly renewable residency card that allows you to stay year round, put utilities bills in your name and purchase Colombia stocks through a brokerage.

I only looked into residency once and it looked like all that was involved was preparing paperwork and paying an attorney anywhere from 500 to 1000US.

In the end I didnt pursue residency as I dont really have any issues just coming in 6 months a year on a tourist visa.

Post: #16

(02-15-2015 07:02 PM)floridamedellin Wrote:  Hey guys second time posting on the forum. I have been encouraged to give a little back to the forum so a Data Sheet on buying a home in Medellin Colombia was suggested to me.

A little background on my decision to move to Medellin. I had been traveling to South America and Central America the past 6 years looking for areas to buy a home and live 6 months a year. My long term plan had been to live in Latin America 6 months a year and Europe 6 months during the summer.

I had been to the beaches in Costa Rica around 10 times and thought that that was my best option. In hindsight I realize that would have been a bad decision. Costa Rican beaches while beautiful to vacation in is not a great place for meeting and dating high quality Women. Basically the Women who live on the beach tend to be lower quality than San Jose and frankly there are not that many of them.

My next idea was Rio De Janeiro. I personally think Rio is an amazing city and somewhat regret that decision not to buy in Rio in 2012. In the end I already spoke conversational Spanish and didn't want to began learning another language at the time. Prices of real estate are and were extremely high and I couldn't see myself shelling out 500k for a shoebox in a developing economy.

I had a couple other places to buy in mind. I spent 4 months in the Dominican Republic. I traveled the whole country and considered homes on the Northern Beaches, the Samara Peninsula and Santo Domingo. I consider the DR a great country with amazing food and nice people and there are some stunners but in the end its a small island and I couldn't see myself settling down there.

I checked out Panama, Peru, Guatemala and San Salvador but none caught my attention. I had been seeing a lot of hot Women on Latin Cupid from Medellin and thought it was time to check it out. That was the middle of 2011 I believe. I went for 3 days and met a nice Girl and got a brief taste of the City. I liked it and noticed how many good looking Women there were but didn't really consider it for a place to live at the time. In November 2012 I went back and loved it. I staid 2 months. Met a lot of beautiful women and met some good people and basically decided in a week after 6 years of looking thats where I wanted my southern home.

I contacted a few different realtors in the end settled on First American Realty one of the biggest Realtor that focuses on foreign clients. Please In Box me for the name of the realtor however I think he works for himself now. I would be happy to pass his name along to whoever needs it. I consider my realtor to have been a honest person, he had all basic info that you would expect from Western realtors. Price comparisons and square meter prices of recently sold property. Couple of things that you will want to take particular care of. In Colombia everything needs to be inventoried in the apartment. For instance I had to renegotiate after the deal closed because the owners tried to remove all the light fixtures, mirrors, and kitchen vents. Basically all these items were considered included in the properties that I have bought in the United States but not in Colombia so make sure your realtor and attorney do a good inventory of what will stay before closing the deal.

When trying to decide on the right area of the city I would consider if you plan on buying a car or Motorcycle or using public transportation and taxis. My opinion is that in Poblado you should consider how far up the hills you want to live. I like the option to be able to walk whenever I want and not rely on Taxis so I like Castropol as an area. Quiet but within walking distance and not to high up the hill to be difficult to walk. Laureles is flat and while I think its a great area to hang out I would not want to live there because I think you get more guys on motos robbing in that area. Dont fool yourself, people from Medellin love there city but they are afraid of her too.

Prices have rose the past few years but so has the US Dollar so I think for 250k you can find an incredible penthouse 3 bed 3 bath. 150k gets you a decent area of Poblado 3 beds normal apartment in a nice buiding with pool and steam room. I think you can still find nice places in Poblado from 75k to 150k but generally speaking they wont be the nicest areas of Poblado and it will be an older building.

Keep in mind when you consider vacation rental income that pretty much anything can be rented in Poblado, less so in Laureles, Envigado and Belen. Basically is you want secure vacation rental income you should stay in the area of the Zone Rosa, Mile De Oro, Patio Bonito, Castropol. Im sure rentals in Las Plamas are rented easily but the top areas for rentals I believe are the areas mentioned.

Normally whatever company you use to manage you apartment will pay all the bills including taxes for you. My taxes run around 1500 US a year for a 3 bed 3 bath 1600 square foot penthouse in strata 6. My Monthly association dues are 200 US a month and that includes 24 hour security and heated pool.

Ok Im fading fast. Hope this can help anyone considering buying a place in Medellin. Please feel free to email me or post with any questions. I appreciate all the great info on this site. Hope I can give back more in the future.

Still happy with your property purchase and if you are renting it out....what kind of return on investment are you getting?

Post: #17

(03-25-2015 12:18 PM)WEDO Wrote:  

(02-15-2015 07:02 PM)floridamedellin Wrote:  Hey guys second time posting on the forum. I have been encouraged to give a little back to the forum so a Data Sheet on buying a home in Medellin Colombia was suggested to me.

A little background on my decision to move to Medellin. I had been traveling to South America and Central America the past 6 years looking for areas to buy a home and live 6 months a year. My long term plan had been to live in Latin America 6 months a year and Europe 6 months during the summer.

I had been to the beaches in Costa Rica around 10 times and thought that that was my best option. In hindsight I realize that would have been a bad decision. Costa Rican beaches while beautiful to vacation in is not a great place for meeting and dating high quality Women. Basically the Women who live on the beach tend to be lower quality than San Jose and frankly there are not that many of them.

My next idea was Rio De Janeiro. I personally think Rio is an amazing city and somewhat regret that decision not to buy in Rio in 2012. In the end I already spoke conversational Spanish and didn't want to began learning another language at the time. Prices of real estate are and were extremely high and I couldn't see myself shelling out 500k for a shoebox in a developing economy.

I had a couple other places to buy in mind. I spent 4 months in the Dominican Republic. I traveled the whole country and considered homes on the Northern Beaches, the Samara Peninsula and Santo Domingo. I consider the DR a great country with amazing food and nice people and there are some stunners but in the end its a small island and I couldn't see myself settling down there.

I checked out Panama, Peru, Guatemala and San Salvador but none caught my attention. I had been seeing a lot of hot Women on Latin Cupid from Medellin and thought it was time to check it out. That was the middle of 2011 I believe. I went for 3 days and met a nice Girl and got a brief taste of the City. I liked it and noticed how many good looking Women there were but didn't really consider it for a place to live at the time. In November 2012 I went back and loved it. I staid 2 months. Met a lot of beautiful women and met some good people and basically decided in a week after 6 years of looking thats where I wanted my southern home.

I contacted a few different realtors in the end settled on First American Realty one of the biggest Realtor that focuses on foreign clients. Please In Box me for the name of the realtor however I think he works for himself now. I would be happy to pass his name along to whoever needs it. I consider my realtor to have been a honest person, he had all basic info that you would expect from Western realtors. Price comparisons and square meter prices of recently sold property. Couple of things that you will want to take particular care of. In Colombia everything needs to be inventoried in the apartment. For instance I had to renegotiate after the deal closed because the owners tried to remove all the light fixtures, mirrors, and kitchen vents. Basically all these items were considered included in the properties that I have bought in the United States but not in Colombia so make sure your realtor and attorney do a good inventory of what will stay before closing the deal.

When trying to decide on the right area of the city I would consider if you plan on buying a car or Motorcycle or using public transportation and taxis. My opinion is that in Poblado you should consider how far up the hills you want to live. I like the option to be able to walk whenever I want and not rely on Taxis so I like Castropol as an area. Quiet but within walking distance and not to high up the hill to be difficult to walk. Laureles is flat and while I think its a great area to hang out I would not want to live there because I think you get more guys on motos robbing in that area. Dont fool yourself, people from Medellin love there city but they are afraid of her too.

Prices have rose the past few years but so has the US Dollar so I think for 250k you can find an incredible penthouse 3 bed 3 bath. 150k gets you a decent area of Poblado 3 beds normal apartment in a nice buiding with pool and steam room. I think you can still find nice places in Poblado from 75k to 150k but generally speaking they wont be the nicest areas of Poblado and it will be an older building.

Keep in mind when you consider vacation rental income that pretty much anything can be rented in Poblado, less so in Laureles, Envigado and Belen. Basically is you want secure vacation rental income you should stay in the area of the Zone Rosa, Mile De Oro, Patio Bonito, Castropol. Im sure rentals in Las Plamas are rented easily but the top areas for rentals I believe are the areas mentioned.

Normally whatever company you use to manage you apartment will pay all the bills including taxes for you. My taxes run around 1500 US a year for a 3 bed 3 bath 1600 square foot penthouse in strata 6. My Monthly association dues are 200 US a month and that includes 24 hour security and heated pool.

Ok Im fading fast. Hope this can help anyone considering buying a place in Medellin. Please feel free to email me or post with any questions. I appreciate all the great info on this site. Hope I can give back more in the future.

Still happy with your property purchase and if you are renting it out....what kind of return on investment are you getting?

Yes I am happy, I think it did two things. First took some of the fear of buying overseas off the table and second it encouraged me to spend more time in Medellin.

I am back in Florida right now for a couple weeks on business and had dinner with a friend. He says I look younger, have more hair and look happier. Less stress will do that to a guy.

As far as ROI I think its reasonable to assume you can make after expenses, taxes and Hoa included you should be able to make 6 to 8 percent

Post: #18

In Cali you can get 8 to 12 percent. So many delapidated houses and land which is available cheap, if you have cash. Medellin properties are overvalued.

Post: #19

(03-27-2015 12:03 AM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  In Cali you can get 8 to 12 percent. So many delapidated houses and land which is available cheap, if you have cash. Medellin properties are overvalued.

I met a gringo in Cali who rents a nice two bedroom for 1.2 million pesos and rents it out to foreigners for $1100 USD, myself, I had a difficult time finding a rental in Cali back in November and finally settled on one in Granada for 1 million, I would have happily paid more for a better place but I couldn't find anything.

Post: #20

(03-27-2015 11:11 AM)scotian Wrote:  

(03-27-2015 12:03 AM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  In Cali you can get 8 to 12 percent. So many delapidated houses and land which is available cheap, if you have cash. Medellin properties are overvalued.

I met a gringo in Cali who rents a nice two bedroom for 1.2 million pesos and rents it out to foreigners for $1100 USD,

How would you rate Mike's place on a scale of 1 to 10?
And what kind for a rating would you give it for the value you receive for what you pay?
I haven't had a chance to stay in it yet.

Post: #21

(03-27-2015 06:34 PM)WEDO Wrote:  

(03-27-2015 11:11 AM)scotian Wrote:  

(03-27-2015 12:03 AM)chochemonger1 Wrote:  In Cali you can get 8 to 12 percent. So many delapidated houses and land which is available cheap, if you have cash. Medellin properties are overvalued.

I met a gringo in Cali who rents a nice two bedroom for 1.2 million pesos and rents it out to foreigners for $1100 USD,

How would you rate Mike's place on a scale of 1 to 10?
And what kind for a rating would you give it for the value you receive for what you pay?
I haven't had a chance to stay in it yet.

His place was exactly what I was looking for last November: small building (six units), good location, very spacious, modern, great view of the city. I would rate it an 8/10 minus a point for not having A/C but that issue can be fixed easily enough.

Post: #22

(02-16-2015 09:38 AM)Tully Mars Wrote:  Another colleague of mine sold his property in Panama City and bought his Bogota condo for cash....this was over a year an half ago when the dollar vs the peso was in the 1850-1950 range.....today it is close to 2400 cop .....he would of saved $30,000 USD just on the exchange rate .....hard to time but it is a good time to buy if you have Dollars!!!

And look at the rate now!

Post: #23

Whatever happened to Floridamedellin? That guy was hilarious and very creative game wise (massage student game) he seems to have dropped off, if you're reading this dude PM me, I'll be back down there very soon.

Post: #24

Yeah you can buy 350-400sqm baller ass penthouses in the best part of Medellin(El Pablado) for $300-350k. Comparable property in the western part of the world would set you back at least 1-2m$ depending on the city. But I don't know If I would go ahead and buy it, so far I havent met a gringo who hasn't been robbed/mugged while living in Colombia. You gotta exercise caution everyday, el pablado is like a western city very developed but once you step outside everything changes instantly.

Post: #25

(02-16-2015 09:38 AM)Tully Mars Wrote:  Another colleague of mine sold his property in Panama City and bought his Bogota condo for cash....this was over a year an half ago when the dollar vs the peso was in the 1850-1950 range.....today it is close to 2400 cop .....he would of saved $30,000 USD just on the exchange rate .....hard to time but it is a good time to buy if you have Dollars!!!

Landlords usually adjust their asking price when the local currency devalues in gringo concentrated locations like el pablado. If you want to make real money from the exchange rate devaluation buy from areas where there no or few gringo buyers. I've witnessed this first hand in the Turkish Economic crisis of 2001. Our exchange rate devalued from 0.6 to 1.7 overnight. In Istanbul the prices dropped by more than 60-70% in USD terms in middle class neighborhoods, but in neighborhoods like besiktas/taksim where there were many foreigners the prices dropped by 10-20% at most in USD terms.