Bogotá, Cundinamarca and Santander carried half of the housing deficit reduction in Colombia
In the case of Bogotá, the decrease was 39% Photo: AI-generated
TL;DR
- Colombia met its National Development Plan housing goal, reducing the deficit from 30.4% in 2022 to 25.6% in 2025.
- Over half of the progress (51%) was concentrated in three regions: Bogotá, Cundinamarca, and Santander.
- Bogotá reduced its housing deficit by 39%, the largest decrease nationwide.
- Regions like La Guajira, Bolívar, Córdoba, and Magdalena showed no real progress.
- Departments with deficits over 80% in 2022, such as San Andrés and Chocó, saw increases or marginal decreases.
- The housing deficit is divided into quantitative (lack of units) and qualitative (poor conditions).
- The quantitative deficit in 2025 was 6.3% (1.18 million households), with a higher burden in rural areas.
- The qualitative deficit affected 19.3% of households (3.63 million families) and saw most of the reduction.
- Urban areas closed 2025 with a 16.5% deficit, while rural areas had 58.6%.
- Improvements in water access were seen in rural areas, but urban access to sewage and energy worsened.
- Camacol argues the deficit reduction was due to macro improvements (like lower interest rates) and market factors, not housing policy.
- The Ministry of Housing's execution rate for housing improvements was low (8.6% of the target).
- New housing starts have fallen for 36 consecutive months, risking future deficit increases.