Report Offers Conflicting View Of Panama City Market
Published on: Monday, June 22, 2009
Written by: Allison Landa
Skyline Panama City.
From the Causeway.
Investors seeking a coherent set of statistics regarding the Panama City, Panama real estate market may find themselves stymied by the 2009 Panama Real Estate Report. The annual report, which is produced by The Panama Report website (www.thepanamareport.com), offers a conflicting set of conclusions as to where one of the major Central American markets is headed.
The report notes that Panama City's lack of a Multiple Listing System complicates the process of gathering data. "They like it this way," Costa Rica and Panama real estate professional Casey Halloran says in the report. "There is power in hoarding information and if it were free to everyone, some would stand to lose power."
To circumvent the lack of an MLS, The Panama Report was produced with the assistance of Reveal Real Estate, a market research firm which specializes in Central American real estate data.
"While it's been projected now for over a year that Panama's market is due to bust, there still exists, as of May of 2009, a dimension of incongruity between buyers and sellers: sellers want to sell high, buyers want to buy low, and no one really knows an appropriate price," the report reads. "Unlike more developed markets where a sense of reality and facts preside, we believe Panama's disparity between buyers and sellers to be attributed to one main liability and that is the inability to obtain real comparative selling data. In other words, buyers and sellers aren't on the same page because.well, there's no same page to be on."
Sales Down, Listing Prices Up
In one of the Panama City market's most apparent contradictions, listing prices seem to have increased even in the face of fewer sales. As of May, the average price per square meter was $2,742.07, a 2.88 percent increase from $2,665.25 a year earlier. For more read: The Complete Article at NuWire Investor
'Panama was born globalized'
Romy Vasquez, Panama's ambassador to Canada, takes us on a tour of the country - from its legendary past and into a vision of its future. "Panama is much more than a canal," she says. "It is a country that belongs to a hemisphere where people meet at one of the world's most special crossroads."
For the complete tour please goto: Panama was born globalized.
Panama Property to Benefit from Sustained Growth
The Panama government has just extended its tax-exemption law...........
/24-7PressRelease/ - NOTTINGHAM, UK, July 08, 2008 - The Panama government has just extended its tax-exemption law for retirees, which were due to expire next year. Panama is currently the foremost destination for American retirees, and the Panama government is, understandably keen to ensure this continues. Panama is regarded as being the American version of what popular parts of Spain -- i.e. the Costas -- are to Britons.
In other words Panama is an incredibly popular tourism destination with Americans, and increasingly, those from around the world, not least those in search of bargain cosmetic surgery. This means, that, given the size of America's population compared to that of Britain; the potential profit to be made from Panama property in the coming years is absolutely huge.
Rental yields on prime Panama property are already huge, holiday apartments are readily fetching yields of not less than 10%, and even up to 18% is possible on the smaller units in the best areas.
For more read: 
Reasons to invest in Real Estate in Panama
Whether you are looking to relocate, Invest or simply retire, Panama has an array of investment incentives for everyone to possess a piece of paradise, and then some.
Therefor Panama Golden Mountain Realty as the realtor on the Western slopes of Volcan Baru located in the beautiful pristine Highlands of Chiriqui invites you to consider the folowing:
In the first place the Law 54
For complete LAW, please read: On protecting foreign investment in the Republic of Panama.
Why Investing in Panama?
- Security:
- Panama is free of natural disasters (hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes), it has no guerrilla and a very low crime index. There is freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
- Currency:
- The US Dollar is the official Panamanian currency since 1904. Annual Inflation has been below 2% in Panamá for the past 40 years.
- Weather:
- Perfect all year round. Tropical in the coastal areas (29°C / 84°F). Tempered climate in the mountains (20°C / 64°F) and it is usually sunny.
- Medical Services:
- Excellent private hospitals and first class doctors in every field of medicine. All international health insurance policies are accepted in Panama.
- Infrastructure:
- One international and several domestic airports. Major roads and highways connect the whole country. Ports and maritime ways service connect both oceans with the rest of the country. And, the famous Panama Canal.
- International flights
- connect Panama to the most important cities of the world, making it an international bridge with the Americas.
- Technology:
- Top of the line telecommunications access point with up to 3,300 gigabytes per second capacity (Internet, Cable TV, cell Phones, etc.)
- Everything is very close:
- From the capital city to the beaches of the Pacific Ocean its only a 90 minute drive. From Panama City to Boquete is a 6 hour drive. From Panama City to Bocas de Toro (in the Caribbean Ocean) is a 7 hour drive. With a flight of 1 hour you can reach anywhere in the country.
- Restaurant and Shops:
- Panama is an enormous commercial center with more than 20 shopping malls and upwards of 500 international brand names.
There is an ample variety of international food at very inexpensive prices.
- Panama is an enormous commercial center with more than 20 shopping malls and upwards of 500 international brand names.
- Protection for the foreign investor:
- Foreign nationals can buy and sell real estate in Panama with the same legal rights and protections that nationals have.
Panama was named by the AARP as one of the top 5 retirement destinations in the world.
Here are a few reasons why:
Panama for Retirees
- No property taxes for retirees if the property is the only property owned by the retiree.
- No sales tax on home furniture if the property is the only property owned by the retiree.
- Special discounted mortgage rates, your realtor can inform you on the details. for retirees.
- No import tax on private use vehicles every 2 years for retirees.
- No import tax on personal belongings up to $10,000.00.
- Discount on
- Medical Services for retirees.
- sales commission and closing costs for personal and commercial loans.
- utilities (light bill, water bill, residential telephone, cable TV).
- Restaurants.
- Air Travel
- Professional Services such as: Nurses, Physical Therapists, Lawyers, Architects, etc.
Panama Real Estate: Hopes Run High for the New President
Published on: Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Written by: Yemisrach Kifle
Panama's most recent election was full of surprises. For one thing, Ricardo Martinelli, who in his first presidential bid in 2004 only got 5.3 percent of the vote, won the contest. Equally striking is the fact that Mr. Martinelli won 61 percent of the votes, making him the first president in the country's modern history to be elected into office with an absolute majority.
Panama City Waterfront
future Avenida de Balboa
So, who is this man that has caught Panama's ruling party, the PRD (Revolutionary Democratic Party), by complete surprise? The 57 year old Ricardo Martinelli is a conservative tycoon who owns a spectrum of businesses including supermarkets, banks, and agricultural companies, according to Time magazine. The U.S. educated candidate campaigned promising change and voters decided he is the man that can deliver. "The Martinelli victory breaks the Latin Left's 2009 electoral winning streak of Venezuela, El Salvador, and Ecuador," said Ray Walser, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank.
The fact that the ruling party's candidate had to fight accusations of corruption during the campaign is sure to have helped Martinelli. It probably also made a difference that he was once the chairman of the board of directors at the Panama Canal. The Canal is often cited as an example of the kind of efficiency Panamaians want from their government. Martinelli was also the Minister of Canal Affairs when, in 2006, voters said yes to a $5.25 billion investment into the sector. This canal expansion project, which will be finished in 2014, has generated over 2,000 new jobs with many more expected to follow.
Martinelli and his party, Democratic Change, hold the majority of seats in the National Assembly. For more read: The Complete Article at NuWire Investor
From The New York Times
Beauty and Tax Breaks Lure Buyers to Panama.
By ALEX MARKELS, Published: February 13, 2005
Little wonder that Panama is increasingly lighting up the radar screens of those searching for an affordable alternative to more traditional south-of-the-border retreats in Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean, where escalating prices increasingly rival those along America's own beachfronts.
Touted as the “next Costa Rica“ by travel magazines and newsletters like International Living, Panama is undergoing a land rush as its Tocumen Airport fills with planeloads of eager foreigners with cash in hand.
Since 2001, once sleepy rural towns like Boquete, which AARP's Modern Maturity magazine named one of the world's best places to retire, have seen real estate prices rise as much as fivefold as developers transform farmland into high-end developments like Valle Escondido, a gated golf-course community where half-acre lots now sell for $100,000 and more. Prices in coastal areas like Bocas Del Toro, on the Caribbean Sea, have also skyrocketed, and a restoration under way in Panama City's historic Casco Viejo neighborhood has drawn foreigners eager to get a piece of its 330-year-old history. Yet despite the price increases, property here remains a fraction of what one would pay for similar real estate in the United States. And with enticements like a 20-year suspension of property taxes to those who build houses or renovate in a historic district, and an income tax hiatus for those starting some small businesses, the opportunities are appealing not only for those seeking a place to retire but also for entrepreneurs of the importance of Donald Trump. Please read the article of USTODAY.com regarding the plans of Donald Trump for Panama.
Recommended books on living, doing business and investing in Panama:
This link below will take you directly to amazon.com.
Current Development Areas
Panama City
- Many Investors have discovered this investment opportunity and have purchased properties located in the cosmopolitan city of Panama, which is located in front of the Panama Bay overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Over the last five years construction in Panama city has increased substantially and areas that were previously overlooked are being developed. - Some of the new Areas under development in Panama city are: Costa del Este, in which high end condominiums are being built; Amador, which used to be part of the old Panama canal Zone, and Punta Pacifica, in which high rise buildings are changing the landscape of the bay area.
- It is also worth mentioning the development that is occurring in the old town of Panama known as “El Casco Antiguo“. There is a revitalization of this Spanish architectural area with remodeling and preservation of century old homes and buildings from the colonial era.
Central American banks: results and perspective.
The banking systems of Panama and El Salvador remain the most firm
The complex economic situation of the region begins to affect the performance of the Central American banks. The results for the first half of 2008 indicate that the decreased vigor of the economy and the increase in inflation have debilitated the asset quality of the banks. In general terms, the levels of default in their loan portfolio has been increased at a rapid pace in the last months, particularly with those organizations which aggressively expanded their personal loan portfolios with during the last few years. Possible increases to the international and local interest rates which look to control inflation would complicate this situation. Facing this panorama, the capacity to absorb economic losses displays important disparities between the different banking systems of the region. For more read: The Panama Post
Some final considerations
- Panama offers a great investment opportunity in real estate.
- Prices have risen in the past few years and the trend keeps going upward, DESPITE THE GLOBAL CREDIT CRUNCH. This upward trend is consolodated, now that the government has decided to amplify the canal.
- Panama is poised to become the best country in Central America in regards to retirement living and security. What Costa Rica did in twenty years, Panama will do in five.
- A stable economy, Dollar currency, protection of foreign interests and friendly people make Panama the ideal country to invest in.