¿Por qué tantos avisos de arriendo no tienen teléfono? El 57,5% no trae a quién llamar

In eight Colombian cities, 57.5% of rental listings do not display a phone number for contact, according to a study of 203,472 rental properties published by 8 cities. The study, "Rental listings without a phone number in Colombia," examined listings from September 3, 2026 in Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali, Chía, Medellín, Rionegro and Soacha.

More than half of the listings in these cities lack a visible phone number. Medellín has the highest percentage of listings with contact information, at 50.8%, while Soacha has the lowest at 68.4%. Bucaramanga shows 68.0%, Rionegro 66.9%, and Bogotá 65.4%.

The impact of the rental listing portal is significant. Out of the 200 or more listings in a city, 8 portals do not publish any phone numbers at all. Fincaraíz, Rentola, Punto Propiedad, MercadoLibre, Wasi Red Inmobiliaria, Coninsa Ramón H., Houm and AptUno are among the portals with no phone numbers. In contrast, Ciencuadras and Metrocuadrado show phone numbers in 97.3% of their listings, and Wasi and DOMUS Red (MLS) show it in 100%.

The percentage of listings with phone numbers is medium or low on social media: Instagram (21.8%), TikTok (43.6%), and Facebook Marketplace (0.5%).

For renters, contacting landlords can be a lengthy process. They often need to fill out a form, create an account, or send a message and wait for a response. This can slow down the search process, especially when listings disappear after a few days. The difference in phone number availability between portals is much greater than between cities, so the choice of portal can greatly affect the number of contactable listings available today.

The study does not determine whether a portal without a phone number is worse. Some portals use a form to register contact, which is intentional for tracking purposes. The study measures the effect on renters, who cannot call today.