Jesús María vs Surco: which is the better rental investment in Lima? (2026)

The long-term rental numbers favor Jesús María, but only just. It nets 3.8% against Surco's 3.6%. That's two-tenths of a percentage point, which is within the margin of noise once you factor in vacancy, a bad tenant, or a building that needs work. Don't build a thesis on that gap alone.

On price, Jesús María is the more expensive entry: a median $2,017/m² versus Surco's $1,779/m². So you're paying more per square meter in Jesús María and getting a marginally higher long-term yield for it. Surco is cheaper to buy in per meter, which matters if you're deploying a fixed budget.

The Airbnb picture flips the story. Surco runs 1.7% gross short-term, nearly double Jesús María's 0.9%. If your plan leans toward short-stay letting, Surco is the clearer choice by these figures. Note that's gross, not net -- it doesn't account for cleaning, management, furnishing, or the platform's cut, so treat it as a relative comparison, not a take-home number.

So the pick depends on your strategy. For straightforward long-term letting, Jesús María edges it on yield at 3.8%, though the advantage is thin. For anyone eyeing the short-term market, Surco's 1.7% gross and lower price per meter make it the stronger bet.

On balance I'd lean Jesús María as the safer default for a buy-and-let investor: higher long-term yield and a small, defensible edge. But that only holds if you're not chasing Airbnb income, where Surco wins outright. The data here is limited to yields, prices and gross Airbnb figures -- it says nothing about capital appreciation, regulation, or how these numbers hold up over time. Not investment advice.

Related: Jesús María · Surco · Lima Yield Index