The apartment is the familiar option and takes about eighteen years to pay back what it cost. Farmland goes in with far less money and puts your production into a market that is growing. Here are both, with the public figures for each.
The short version
- The apartment yields 5.53% gross a year in Lima, which is 18.1 years to recover the purchase.
- That 5.53% is gross: transfer tax, property tax, rates, maintenance and empty months come out of it.
- Farmland starts with a down payment, not the full price and not a mortgage.
- And it asks no work of you when crop management is included in the contract.
The apartment figure, which can be checked
According to the Urbania index for August 2026, a home in Lima rented out yields an average of 5.53% gross a year. At that level it takes around 18.1 years of rent to recover what it cost.
The Central Reserve Bank’s twelve district panel points the same way, with a price to rent ratio of 16.7 years. Average rent for a 100 square metre apartment reached S/ 3,439 a month in July 2026.
Two things about those numbers change the picture quite a bit.
The first is that they are gross. Out of that 5.53% come property tax, municipal rates, building maintenance, repairs and the months the flat sits empty. Net yield usually lands one to two points lower. On top of that there is transfer tax at purchase and, if there is a mortgage, the bank’s interest for the whole term.
The second is that the average hides wide differences between districts, so the number that matters is not Lima’s but that particular building’s.
And what is almost never compared: how much it takes to start
This is the most practical difference of the two. An apartment to rent out in Lima is bought with the full price or with a mortgage over fifteen or twenty years, with its interest.
A plot at Megaproyecto Pachamama starts with a down payment from S/ 25,000, the balance is financed over up to 12 months with no interest, and half the total value is settled against the harvest.
And what you can check before signing
An apartment is compared with a percentage. Farmland is checked with documents, and there are rather more of them.
Before putting down a single sol you can verify the price and exactly what it covers, where the water comes from and under what licence, the plot’s registered title, already independent and searchable at SUNARP, the crop’s GLOBALG.A.P. certification in the public online register, and who manages the crop over the next fifteen years, written into the contract.
All of it can be checked without asking our permission, and before deciding anything. If another project offers you a guaranteed annual percentage on a crop, the question worth asking is which paid seasons back it up.
What can be compared, point by point
| Farmland | Apartment to rent | Funds and shares | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Money to start | Down payment from S/ 25,000 | Full price or a mortgage | Small amounts |
| When the first income arrives | When the planting produces | The month after letting it | Variable |
| Who does the work | The project, management included | You or an agent | The fund manager |
| Liquidity | Low: selling takes months | Low: selling takes months | High |
| Recurring costs | Whatever the contract says, for 15 years | Property tax, maintenance, rates | Fees |
| What to keep an eye on | Water, weather and fruit prices | Empty months, arrears, wear | Market falls |
| Public benchmark | Varies with each season | 5.53% gross a year in Lima | Published by each fund |
The real difference is not the percentage, it is the profile. The apartment starts paying straight away and in exchange asks for attention every month: tenants, collections, repairs and the months nobody rents it.
Farmland takes longer to start and, when management is included, it asks nothing of you: the project plants, irrigates, harvests and sells the fruit. And what it produces is not rent in soles, it is export fruit in a market that has been growing for four years.
The questions to ask of each
Of the apartment: what it actually rents for in that building rather than that district, how many months a year it sits empty, and what property tax, rates and maintenance add up to in a year.
Of the farmland: where the water comes from and under what licence, whether the plot has its own registered title, who manages the crop and for how many years, and what the price covers and what it leaves out.
In short
The apartment is the familiar option, and it takes about eighteen years to pay back what it cost while asking for attention every month.
Farmland goes in with a down payment, charges no interest in the first year, gives you no work and produces export fruit. It asks for more patience at the start, and that is the deal.
What does not help is choosing by looking at a single percentage.
Frequently asked questions
What yields more, farmland or an apartment to rent out?
An apartment has a published gross yield, around 5.5% a year in Lima according to the Urbania index for August 2026, which is about eighteen years to recover the purchase, and property tax, rates, maintenance and empty months still come out of it. Farmland goes in with far less money, charges no interest in the first year and produces export fruit, and what underpins it can be checked before signing: the water and its licence, the registered title and the crop’s certification.
How much does renting out an apartment in Lima yield?
Average gross yield was 5.53% a year in August 2026 according to the Urbania index, which works out at about 18.1 years of rent to recover the purchase price. Net yield, after costs, usually lands one to two points lower.
Which option needs less money up front?
Farmland, as a rule. An apartment to rent out in Lima requires the full price or a mortgage, whereas an agricultural plot can be bought with a down payment and a financed balance.
Which one sells faster if I need the money?
Neither is liquid. An apartment can take months to sell, and so can farmland. If you need to be able to pull your money out within days, neither of these is the answer.
