Studio vs. Two-Bedroom: Which Rental Investment Wins in Uruguay in 2026?

INGAR · 2026-08-03 · Investment

Executive summary

Studio or two-bedroom? It's the question we hear most often from investors who come to INGAR with capital for a first (or second) property in Montevideo. It depends on your profile. The reasoning —with numbers, real-world vacancy, building fees and side-by-side scenarios— takes up the next 2,500 words.

Here's what you'll find:

Real entry prices for each unit type in 2026.
Gross vs. net yield: why the gap matters more than you'd think.
Vacancy, turnover and tenant profile: the hidden cost of a studio.
The "two studios vs. one two-bedroom" argument, dollar for dollar.
The demographic angle: households keep shrinking, but does that really mean more demand for studios?
Resale risk in a saturated market.
The bottom line: when each unit type wins, based on your investor profile.

Before we get into the comparison, make sure you're clear on:

1. Entry prices: how much capital you need

Let's talk money. Purchase price ranges in Montevideo as of early 2026, for resale units in good condition or recently built vivienda promovida (subsidized-development housing under Uruguay's tax-incentive program), look like this:

Unit type	Price range (USD)	Ballpark average (USD)	Typical floor area
Studio	70.000 – 130.000	~95.000	25 – 38 m²
Two-bedroom	150.000 – 260.000	~195.000	55 – 80 m²

According to the Agencia Nacional de Vivienda (ANV, Uruguay's national housing agency), the average price of a studio in vivienda promovida stood at USD 97.051 for the rolling year ending April 2026, at USD 2.411 per built square meter in Montevideo. In the non-subsidized segment and in premium areas like Pocitos or Punta Carretas, studios comfortably reach USD 110.000–130.000.

For two-bedrooms, the spread is wider. In Cordón or Parque Rodó you can find units at USD 150.000–170.000; in Pocitos Nuevo or Buceo, USD 200.000–250.000; in Carrasco or Punta Gorda, north of USD 260.000.

Key takeaway: a two-bedroom costs, on average, twice what a studio costs. That's the starting point for everything that follows.

2. Gross yield: the studio wins on paper

Pick up a calculator, divide annual rent by purchase price, and the studio comes out ahead almost every time. Typical 2026 numbers:

Variable	Studio	Two-bedroom
Purchase price	USD 95.000	USD 195.000
Monthly rent	$ 23.000 (~USD 495)	$ 39.000 (~USD 840)
Annual rent	USD 5.940	USD 10.080
Gross yield	6,3%	5,2%

Studios return between 6,0% and 7,5% gross depending on the neighborhood and the quality of the unit. Two-bedrooms typically land between 4,8% and 5,8%. That tracks with the gross yields by neighborhood tracked in the Índice INGAR and with the study by IEEM (the business school research center run with Grant Thornton) that broke down returns by unit type and neighborhood.

So far, the studio looks like the obvious pick. But gross yield is only the starting line —not the finish.

3. Vacancy and turnover: where the studio loses ground

Gross yield assumes you collect 12 months of rent a year. In practice, that doesn't happen. You get vacancy between tenants, and you get turnover costs: paint, cleaning, small repairs, broker's fee.

Tenant profile and lease length

Factor	Studio	Two-bedroom
Typical profile	University students, young professionals, singles	Couples, small families, professionals working from home
Average lease length	12 – 18 months	24 – 36 months
Estimated vacancy per year	1,5 – 2 months	0,5 – 1 month
Turnover over 5 years	3 – 4 tenants	1 – 2 tenants
Price sensitivity	High (competes with other studios and with shared rooms)	Medium (fewer alternatives to compete with)

Why is studio vacancy higher? Because the studio tenant is often at a transitional stage of life: still in school, starting a first job, moving in with a partner and trading up. It's a profile in motion. The two-bedroom tenant, by contrast, settles in: builds a home, gets a dog, accumulates furniture. Moving costs them more, so they renew more often.

Every tenant turnover carries a real cost: the broker's fee, which per the CIU fee schedule (Uruguay's national chamber of real-estate brokers) runs one month's rent plus IVA (value-added tax) from each party on leases of a year or more, with a discount of up to 50% available to the owner (on shorter leases it's often negotiated down from half a month), plus paint and cleaning (easily $15.000–$25.000 on a studio). Turn the unit over three times in five years instead of once, and the cumulative difference adds up fast.

4. Building fees: the studio's invisible tax

This is one of the traps first-time investors don't see coming. Building fees aren't proportional to the size of the unit —they're proportional to what the building offers, and they're split by a coefficient (which does factor in floor area, but not linearly).

Item	Studio (30 m²)	Two-bedroom (65 m²)
Monthly building fees	$ 3.500 – $ 5.000	$ 5.500 – $ 8.000
Building fees as % of rent	15% – 22%	14% – 20%
Building fees per m²	$ 117 – $ 167/m²	$ 85 – $ 123/m²

In modern vivienda promovida buildings —which is where most of Montevideo's studios are concentrated— the fees cover a doorman, cleaning, elevator maintenance, a coworking space, a barbecue area and generous common areas. All of that gets billed. A studio in an 80-unit building with amenities can carry fees of $4.000–$5.000 a month, or 17%–22% of the monthly rent.

The two-bedroom pays more in absolute terms, but less as a share of rent and far less per square meter. That erodes the studio's gross advantage.

And keep this in mind: if the owner covers building fees during vacancy (which is standard practice), with a studio you're paying proportionally more for a longer stretch. Penalized twice.

5. Net yield: the number that actually matters

Let's build a realistic scenario with every cost included. Same neighborhood (Cordón, say), 2026 market values:

Variable	Studio	Two-bedroom
Purchase price	USD 95.000	USD 190.000
Monthly rent	$ 23.000	$ 39.000
Months collected (12 minus vacancy)	10,5	11,3
Annual rental income	$ 241.500	$ 440.700
Building fees (12 months, vacancy included)	-$ 51.000	-$ 78.000
Contribución inmobiliaria (municipal property tax) + primaria (school levy)	-$ 12.000	-$ 22.000
Building insurance (annual premium)	-$ 4.000	-$ 7.000
Maintenance and turnover (prorated)	-$ 15.000	-$ 10.000
IRPF, Uruguay's personal income tax (12% on estimated net rental income, with monthly withholdings of 10,5%)	-$ 19.100	-$ 38.800
Net annual income	$ 140.400	$ 284.900
Net annual income (approx. USD)	USD 3.020	USD 6.130
Net yield	3,2%	3,2%

Here's the surprise: once you factor in real vacancy, building fees, maintenance and taxes, that 1,1-point gross gap all but vanishes. In plenty of scenarios, the two-bedroom ends up matching or beating the studio on a net basis.

Why? Because the studio's higher vacancy (1,5 months vs. 0,7 months) and proportionally steeper building fees eat the gross advantage. Add the higher turnover costs that come with more frequent tenant churn, and the difference evaporates.

For a deeper dive into the full calculation: rental yields by area in Montevideo.

6. The "two studios vs. one two-bedroom" argument

This is the question active investors keep asking: if I have USD 190.000, do I buy one solid two-bedroom or two studios at USD 95.000 each?

The theoretical case for two studios

Diversification: if one tenant leaves, you're still collecting from the other.
Higher total gross income: $ 23.000 x 2 = $ 46.000 vs. $ 39.000.
Exit flexibility: you can sell one and keep the other.

The real drawbacks of two studios

Double the management: two leases, two turnovers, two buildings, two property managers. Work with a brokerage and that's two commissions.
Double the building fees: $ 4.250 x 2 = $ 8.500/month vs. $ 6.500 for the two-bedroom. That's $ 2.000 more a month, or $ 24.000 a year —money out of your pocket during vacancy.
Double the turnover work: you paint twice, clean twice, fix things twice.
More exposure to simultaneous vacancy: if both leases expire around the same time (and that happens more than you'd expect), you can go weeks with zero income.

The five-year comparison

Scenario (5 years)	Two studios	One two-bedroom
Capital invested	USD 190.000	USD 190.000
Estimated net annual income	USD 6.140	USD 6.230
Total net income (5 years)	USD 30.700	USD 31.150
Estimated tenant turnovers	6 – 8	1 – 2
Management hours per year	High	Low

The net numbers come out even, but the management load is worlds apart. If your time is worth something (and it is), the two-bedroom wins by a mile on effort-adjusted return.

That said: if you're a hands-on investor who enjoys the management side, has a brokerage you trust and can keep vacancy tight (through fast turnarounds and aggressive marketing, say), two well-located studios can generate somewhat more gross income. But that "somewhat more" takes twice the work.

7. The elephant in the room: the studio glut

This is something you can't ignore in 2026. The numbers speak for themselves:

Between 2020 and 2024, studios and one-bedroom units went from 1% of all vivienda promovida construction to 61%.
More than 2.200 studios have been built under the Vivienda Promovida program in recent years.
The legislative debate is already underway: Senator Gustavo González has proposed removing studios from the program, arguing that they put developer returns ahead of the right to decent housing.
The private sector itself has acknowledged the saturation and voluntarily scaled back production.

What does that mean for you as an investor?

Rental competition risk: when a neighborhood is flooded with available studios, the tenant holds the negotiating power. If your studio doesn't stand out —on location, finishes or price— vacancy stretches out. This is already playing out in parts of Cordón and Tres Cruces, where vivienda promovida is heavily concentrated.

Resale risk: if you want out in five to seven years, you'll be competing with hundreds of near-identical studios on the resale market. A well-located two-bedroom has a much broader buyer pool: investors, owner-occupiers, young couples, families. The studio competes almost exclusively for investors —and if everyone wants to sell at once, prices compress.

Regulatory risk: if any limit on studios in vivienda promovida passes (a 20% cap per project is already under discussion), new construction would slow, which over the long run could favor existing studios. In the near term, though, a signal that the government wants to rein in this unit type isn't good for how the market values it.

8. The demographic angle: more studio demand ahead?

The 2023 census numbers are striking:

The average Uruguayan household shrank from 2,8 people in 2011 to 2,5 in 2023.
Single-person households now make up 29% of the total (vs. 11% in 1963).
Two-person households account for another 29,4%.

That points to structurally rising demand for small units. More people living alone or as couples = more demand for studios and one-bedrooms. That's the case in favor.

But there's a counterargument plenty of people overlook: remote work changed what people need from their space. Since 2020, a growing share of young professionals (exactly the studio's target tenant) needs a desk, a chair and a door that closes. A 28 m² studio doesn't solve that. Someone who would have settled for a studio in 2019 is now looking for a one-bedroom with a separate living room, or simply a two-bedroom where they can carve out a workspace.

The demographic trend is real, but it doesn't automatically translate into demand for studios. It translates into demand for affordable units for small households —and that includes one- and two-bedrooms as much as studios.

9. Maintenance per m²: another cost that gets underestimated

The cost of maintaining a unit doesn't scale linearly with floor area. Some things cost the same regardless of size:

A coat of interior paint: a 30 m² studio might run $ 15.000–$20.000; a 65 m² two-bedroom, $ 25.000–$35.000. Not double the cost for double the space.
Fixing a water heater, a shut-off valve, a faucet: same price either way.
Included appliances (if you rent furnished): the studio needs the same ones the two-bedroom does, but there's less monthly rent to absorb the wear.

The upshot: maintenance per square meter is significantly higher in a studio. And because turnover is higher, you incur those costs more often.

10. The neighborhood matters more than the unit type

One finding from the IEEM study is worth underlining: returns vary more between neighborhoods than between unit types. According to the Índice INGAR (June 2026), the median gross yield on apartments in Pocitos is 5,4% —among the lowest in Montevideo— despite it being the city's most sought-after area. In Aguada it's 5,7%, and in outlying neighborhoods like La Teja or Colón, gross returns climb to 11%–13% (with a different risk profile attached).

The lesson: don't pick the unit type first and the neighborhood second. Do it the other way around. Decide where you want to invest based on your risk tolerance, how well you know the local market and the actual tenant demand in that area. Then figure out which unit type performs best there.

In student areas (Cordón, Parque Rodó, Aguada), studios have genuine demand but face a growing glut. In family and professional areas (Pocitos, Buceo, Malvín), two-bedrooms tend to face less competition and offer more stability.

11. Common mistakes when choosing a unit type

Looking only at gross. We've covered this: the 1 to 1,5 percentage-point gross gap evaporates once you account for vacancy, building fees and turnover. Always run the net.
Ignoring building fees in amenity-heavy buildings. That coworking space and rooftop grill look great in the sales brochure, but you pay for them every month. In a studio, they eat a hefty share of the rent.
Buying on entry price without thinking about the exit. Studios are appealing because the barrier to entry is low. But ask yourself: what will it cost me to get out in seven years? If the resale market is saturated, liquidity is thin, and you could end up selling at a loss or well below the return you expected.
Not validating local demand. Before you buy, scan the listing platforms and count how many comparable units are up for rent in the same area. If the supply of similar studios is heavy, your pricing power is weak.
Underestimating the cost of your own time. Managing two studios isn't "twice" the work of one; sometimes it's more, because the problems overlap. If you don't have a property manager or brokerage handling it, the grind is real.

To assess whether the asking price on the unit you're eyeing is reasonable: how to tell if a property is fairly priced.

12. The bottom line: studio or two-bedroom?

There's no universal answer. There's an answer for each investor profile:

Your profile	Better option	Why
Passive investor who wants to collect rent and not think about it	A well-located two-bedroom	Less vacancy, less turnover, stable tenants on long leases. The net yield is comparable and the management load is minimal.
Hands-on investor who manages closely or works with a brokerage	Two studios (same capital)	Higher total gross income and diversified risk. But it takes twice the management and a tolerance for turnover.
First-time investor with limited capital (USD 80.000–100.000)	A studio in an area with proven demand	It's the way into the market. Just choose the neighborhood carefully and don't overpay.
Long-horizon investor (10+ years, betting on appreciation)	Two-bedroom	Better resale liquidity, less saturation risk, a wider pool of future buyers.
Investor chasing maximum gross yield	A studio in an outlying neighborhood	Gross returns of 8%–13% are within reach. But vacancy, non-payment risk and resale liquidity all get proportionally worse.

What we recommend at INGAR: for most investors chasing passive income and long-term capital appreciation, a well-located two-bedroom in an area with mixed demand (students + professionals + families) tends to offer the best risk-return balance. A studio can work —and works well in plenty of cases— but it demands more work, more tolerance for turnover and more care in picking the unit.

If you're weighing a pre-construction purchase in either category, factor this in as well: the upside and risks of buying pre-construction in Uruguay.

Sources

Agencia Nacional de Vivienda (ANV) – Report on vivienda promovida prices, rolling year ending August 2025: El Observador – Vivienda Promovida: average studio prices
IEEM (Centro de Investigaciones Grant Thornton) – Rental-market returns by unit type and neighborhood: IEEM – One bedroom or two?
Private semiannual report on gross yields by neighborhood (H1 2025), cited in: Ambito – Record rental yields
INE (Uruguay's national statistics institute) – 2023 National Census, final results (single-person households and average household size): MercoPress – Uruguay's census: single-person households
El Observador – Proposal to remove studios from the vivienda promovida program: El Observador – Proposal to eliminate studios
INE – Real Estate Activity Indicators (IAI) – Rental market: INE – IAI rental data, October 2025
INE – Consumer Price Index (IPC): INE – IPC Dashboard

Want to invest on data instead of instinct? See how to invest in Uruguay, get an online property valuation or message us on WhatsApp.