Anyone following Colombia’s construction sector in 2025 needed a calculator and a bit of patience. Some graphs finally pointed up, others still went firmly down.
Civil works grew, housing sales woke up, but buildings and social housing policies continued to send warning signals that no one in the industry could ignore.
A sector between rebound and drag
In the first quarter of 2025, Colombia’s economy grew 2.7% compared with a year earlier. At first glance, construction did not share that good mood.
DANE data showed that the branch’s value added fell 3.5%, with buildings down 7% and specialized activities down 3.7%. Civil works were the exception, rising 3.8%.
Camacol projected gross domestic product growth of about 2.6% for all of 2025, above 2024’s 1.9%, but warned that credit costs remained a serious brake.
Mortgage rates around 11.4% made buying a home more expensive and slowed many private investment decisions, especially in mid‑income segments.
Housing, a recovery that still feels fragile
On paper, the housing market looked better than in 2023 and 2024. Bancolombia and BBVA Research pointed to an 8%–9% rise in new housing sales in 2025, with particular strength in non‑VIS units (social housing).
Launches grew around 4%–13%, depending on the source and time frame, which suggested some renewed confidence about projects that would be delivered after 2026.
Under the surface, however, initiations of work fell close to 26%–53%, hit by problems with subsidies, pre‑sale conditions, and financing.
Developers thought twice before starting new buildings, especially in the VIS range, where many buyers depended on public support.
The end of Mi Casa Ya and its shock on social housing
One of the biggest shocks came from policy, not from concrete. The suspension and later closure of Mi Casa Ya changed the rules of the game for thousands of households.
Analyses showed that VIS buyers now faced monthly payments up to 40% higher without the subsidy, which priced many families out of the market.
The program had helped more than 60,000 households per year in 2021 and 2022, so its end removed a key engine for urban employment and internal demand.
Sector voices warned that, without a new tool, the social housing segment would shrink further and part of the recent recovery would vanish.
Civil works and investment kept the floor from collapsing
If construction did not fall more, it was largely thanks to civil works. Roads, aqueducts, and other infrastructure projects brought steady activity and pushed production indicators up more than 3% in early 2025.
Reports from ANIF and Asogravas highlighted the role of machinery investment and public works in keeping jobs and demand for aggregates alive.
Still, the recovery was uneven. Some large projects advanced slowly, regional gaps persisted, and cost indices for civil works and buildings continued to rise, driven by labor and materials.
For many firms, especially small- and medium‑sized ones, margins remained tight, and delays or extra costs in contracts could make the difference between survival and exit.
What the sector needs to move from ‘less bad’ to solid growth
Experts and guilds repeated a similar checklist. First, cheaper and more stable financing, both for buyers and for developers, so that interest rates stop eating projects before they start.
Second, faster and more predictable public policy, from licenses and land management to clear replacement tools for Mi Casa Ya or other social housing instruments.
Third, better execution of civil works, so that already approved budgets turn into finished projects on time, helping the sector and solving real bottlenecks in mobility and services.
Without these changes, 2025 risks becoming a year of partial rebound, remembered more for what could have happened than for what the sector actually achieved.
Building a more stable future, brick by brick
In 2025, Colombia’s construction sector showed that it still had strong muscles, especially in infrastructure, but also clear weak points in housing, financing, and social policy.
Whether this year becomes the start of a real upward cycle depends on choices made now, from new social housing schemes to how quickly credit costs fall and strategic projects break ground. The blueprints exist, but the clock is already ticking.