Barranco vs Magdalena: better rental investment? (2026)
n = 1,903 Airbnb listings · 698 sale listings · source: urbania.pe + airroi · as of 2026-09-17 · methodology →
Magdalena takes this one, and it takes it on both lines at once: about 4.8% net long-term against Barranco's roughly 4.7%, and roughly 7.0% gross on Airbnb against Barranco's near 6.2%. The yield edge is thin. The entry price is not — Magdalena trades near $2,140 per m2 against about $2,608 in Barranco, roughly 17% cheaper, or about $442 per m2 less.
If you are the buyer I am writing for — a foreigner wiring money into a Lima apartment you will not live in — that price gap is the whole argument. You are not being paid extra for Barranco's address. You are paying more per square metre for a slightly lower return, and the long-term figure is the one that matters, because it is net: the long-term yield subtracts property tax, arbitrios, rental income tax and a 3% vacancy allowance. It does not subtract mantenimiento, because in a Lima long-term let the tenant pays that.
The Airbnb side is where Barranco gets closer, and where I would still be careful. The Airbnb yield subtracts the platform fee, host-paid utilities and internet, income tax, mantenimiento, property tax and arbitrios — and the host pays mantenimiento here, with no guest reimbursing it. Neither figure subtracts furnishing, cleaning or management, because the owner self-manages on both sides. Run the numbers with those on your own side of the ledger before you believe either percentage.
So: Magdalena, on yield and on cost of entry. Barranco is the more expensive mistake — you pay more per square metre for a lower net return, and the only thing it buys you is the postcard. If you want the district for your own weekends, fine, but do not tell yourself it is the better rental. The data here is thin on a single median price per m2 and a steady-state yield, so treat both as approximate and check the specific building.