San Isidro vs Surco: better rental investment? (2026)
n = 1,771 Airbnb listings · 2,509 sale listings · source: urbania.pe + airroi · as of 2026-09-17 · methodology →
Surco takes it on both headline numbers, and it costs less to get in: about 4.8% net long-term against San Isidro's roughly 4.4%, on a median near $1,758 per m2 against about $2,510. That is roughly 29% cheaper per square metre, or about $740 less. If you are buying with foreign savings and a mortgage you will actually service, that entry price is the whole argument.
The long-term gap is thin enough that I would not build a thesis on it. About 4.4% against roughly 4.8% is close to a tie, and the long-term figure is net: it already 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, not you. The owner self-manages on both sides.
Airbnb flips the ranking. San Isidro runs about 7.2% gross against Surco's roughly 6.4%, and that is before the platform fee, the utilities and internet you pay as host, income tax, mantenimiento, property tax and arbitrios. The Airbnb figure subtracts all of those; the long-term figure does not carry the same list. Neither side accounts for furnishing, cleaning or management fees, so treat both as the model they are.
So the pick depends on what you are buying. Surco gives you the cheaper square metre and the marginally better long-term net yield, and it is the easier hold if you want a tenant and a quiet life. San Isidro gives you the stronger short-let number and the deeper resale market, which matters if you ever need to exit. I would take Surco for a plain long-term let and San Isidro only if I intended to run the apartment myself.
The honest caveat: these figures are approximate and held steady between real moves, so the tables on the page may show slightly different values. The long-term yields sit within a fraction of a point of each other, which is too close to call on yield alone. Decide on price, liquidity and whether you want the Airbnb work. Not investment advice.