El Salvador’s property market in 2025, in numbers

The year in five figures

• Construction grew 24.4%, its fastest rate since 2006 and the fastest-growing activity in the economy (BCR).
• The economy as a whole grew 3.9% (BCR).
• $4,212 million in real estate transactions were registered, across 151,567 property transfers, 13% more than in 2024 (CNR).
• About $3,000 million of public and private construction investment (CASALCO estimate).
• $5,000 million of construction investment authorized in Greater San Salvador, 51.9% of it residential and 16.1% mixed-use (OPAMSS).

What moved the market

• Building upward. More than half of the investment authorized in Greater San Salvador is housing, and much of it is apartment towers (OPAMSS).
• A faster registry. Registering a purchase at the CNR went from 35 days to 24 hours, and a mortgage from a week to 24 hours, with no extra fees (CNR).
• Companies built to hold property. More than 8,000 companies were created in 2025, 7,274 of them as simplified joint-stock companies (SAS), the vehicle many developments now use (CNR).
• Buyers from abroad. Salvadorans living abroad are a large and growing share of buyers of new homes (CASALCO; see the 2026 report).

What a home costs

• $265,500 median sale price nationally.
• $379,860 in urban areas.
• $542,300 in the largest city.

Source: Housing Yearbook of Latin America and the Caribbean 2025. These are medians: half of homes sell for less, half for more.

One number to read carefully

• Total transfers grew 13%, but purchase-sale deeds alone barely moved: 104,675 in 2025 against 104,484 in 2024, up 0.2% (CNR).
• Transfers also include donations, inheritances and other conveyances. The headline growth is in total transfers and their value, not in the number of sales.

What it means if you are buying

• A busy market closes fast, and fast is where mistakes happen. Verify the property at the CNR before any deposit.
• Price is only part of the cost. See every line of what it costs to close.
• Buying from abroad? What changes at a distance.

Sources

1. Diario El Mundo, 9 Apr 2026: construction grew 24.41% in 2025 (BCR)
2. Diario El Mundo: the economy grew 3.9% in 2025 (BCR)
3. Infobae, 15 May 2026: CNR figures for 2025 and registration times
4. Diario El Mundo, 29 Jan 2026: 104,675 purchase-sale deeds in 2025 (CNR)
5. El Diario de Hoy, 5 Feb 2026: 8,000+ companies and 7,274 SAS created in 2025 (CNR)
6. Forbes Centroamérica, 3 Mar 2026: construction expects $3,500-4,000 million of investment in 2026 (CASALCO)
7. Diario El Mundo, 18 Jun 2026: housing construction in San Salvador, projects, prices and zones (OPAMSS)
8. El Diario de Hoy: median home prices, Housing Yearbook of Latin America and the Caribbean 2025