Magdalena vs Pueblo Libre: better rental investment? (2026)
n = 783 Airbnb listings · 482 sale listings · source: urbania.pe + airroi · as of 2026-09-17 · methodology →
Pueblo Libre takes it on both headline numbers, and neither margin is big enough to get excited about: about 5.1% net long-term against Magdalena's roughly 4.8%, and about 6.8% gross on Airbnb against roughly 7.0%. If you are buying for the tenant, you are buying Pueblo Libre. If you are buying for the short stay, Magdalena is marginally ahead, and I would not pay much for that margin.
The long-term figure is net of 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, not you. The Airbnb figure subtracts the platform fee, host-paid utilities and internet, income tax, mantenimiento, property tax and arbitrios. On both sides the owner self-manages. Neither figure subtracts furnishing, cleaning or management fees, so do not treat either as your final number.
Where the two actually separate is the entry price. Magdalena sells for a median of about $2,140 per m2; Pueblo Libre for about $1,798. That is roughly 16.9% cheaper, or about $367 per m2 less. On a 70 m2 flat that is the difference between a cheaper mistake and a more expensive one, and it is the only gap here wide enough to act on.
So the pick is Pueblo Libre, on price and on the long-term yield, with the honest caveat that the yield gap is about 0.2 points and could vanish in a year of bad tenants. Magdalena's case rests on Airbnb, where it leads by roughly 0.5 points gross, and on liquidity, which I cannot put a number on from this data. If you need to sell in a hurry, that matters more than either yield.
What you give up by choosing Pueblo Libre is the short-stay upside and whatever Magdalena's resale market is worth to you. What you give up by choosing Magdalena is a cheaper entry and the better long-term return. Neither is a mistake at these prices. This is not investment advice.