President Gustavo Petro blamed the Banco de la República's high interest rates for the housing sector's contraction, which has seen 10 consecutive quarters of decline. The leader stated that these positive and growing real rates have prevented users from affording payments. Analysts, however, emphasize the drop in social interest housing as the main factor.
Colombia's GDP growth in 2025 reached 2.6%, 0.2 percentage points below the guilds' expectations of 2.8%. This outcome raised concerns over low levels in industry and investment, especially in the housing sector.
President Gustavo Petro, in a post on his X account, stated that "the housing sector must know that, throughout my Government, the Banco de la República has left real interest rates positive and growing". He added that "the housing sector does not grow as much because its users cannot pay installments with high interest rates", referring to the nominal rate exceeding the inflation level, which contracts growth.
However, analysts provide a different view. Dane director Piedad Urdinola explained that gross fixed capital formation fell 2.9%, with housing bearing the heaviest impact: an annual growth rate of -8.5% and a contribution of -1.8 percentage points. She noted a lower registration of housing at all levels in many cities across the country.
Diego Montañez, an economic analyst at Universidad Eafit, detailed the performance of social interest housing (VIS). From 2018 to 2022, initiations reached an index of 168, a 68% increase from the initial level. In the 2014-2018 period, the index was 107, reflecting 7% growth. In contrast, from 2022 to 2025, the indicator dropped to 58, 42% below the 2018 level. Additionally, the accumulated variation in VIS over the last 12 months to January declined by 27.3%.
