But are there still deals to be had on Panama real estate?
It doesn’t hurt that in Panama, as Business Week magazine reported just last year, “a luxe beachfront manse can be had for the same price as a dump in Daytona. ”
In Panama's cosmopolitan capital city, you CAN buy a luxurious condo for $1,500 per square meter... if you have the right contacts and information
In that same Business Week article, International Living reader Jon Nickel was quoted. “We would have been looking at $3 million in Miami,” he says of his 3,000-square-foot oceanfront penthouse in Panama City. But Jon and his wife, Gretchen, bought their home in late 2007 for $250,000, right after Jon retired from his corporate law job in Portland, Oregon.
The sprawling, sparkling condo in Panama City’s upscale Punta Paitilla neighborhood has a birds-eye view of the equally sparkling Bay of Panama from the floor to ceiling windows. They have a doorman who screens visitors and helps carry packages, and daily household help for cleaning. And they enjoy a luxurious lifestyle that they couldn’t have afforded in the U.S.
In fact, by moving to Panama, Jon was able to retire earlier than he had originally planned—at age 58.
And yes, less than three years later, deals like the Nickels got on their condo are still available in Panama. Thanks to the global economic downturn of the past 18 months, we daresay some prices are about the same as they were when the Jon and Gretchen and Steve and Linda bought their homes.
Check out these bargains that we found just today:
- In Panama City’s Betania neighborhood, where many Panamanian professionals make their homes, a classy-but-small (just 620 square feet) condo is on sale for just $65,000. (Monthly fees are just $18!) Or be the first to move into a brand-new 820-square-foot condo going for just $85,000.
- In the new upscale Punta Pacifica neighborhood, is a new two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo, fully furnished by an interior designer. There’s a nice balcony to catch the ocean breezes and with views of the bay and the city. The building has a large swimming pool and exercise room, too. Price: just $165,000 and remember, that includes the furniture!
- In the established Cangrejo neighborhood (very popular with expats) you can pick up a 2700-square-foot three-bedroom, four-bathroom penthouse with two large balconies for just $239,000—and the owner says that price is negotiable.
And remember, Panama offers a big buyer’s incentive in its tax-exemption program. Most new construction is exempt from property taxes for up to 20 years!
According to International Living Real Estate Editor Ronan McMahon, who has logged hundreds of thousands of travel miles in pursuit of the world’s best real estate bargains:
“The past five years has seen an unprecedented boom in Panama as the skyline has been transformed with cranes and new construction. As condo buildings complete, some buyers (mostly from the U.S. who had planned on raising funds from lines of credit at home) find themselves unable to close. They need to sell—or they will lose their deposit, and maybe more. They are joining the growing ranks of motivated sellers.
A motivated seller will sell for much less than the “official” price per square meter. With the right contacts and information, you can buy a quality condo for $1,500 per square meter—more than 40% less than that ‘official’ price.”
Point is: There are ‘distress-sale’ opportunities out there if you know where to look.
Prefer to live outside Panama City? That’s where the real bargains can be found. Like:
- A four-bedroom home on a lot of nearly half an acre in the cool mountain town of Cerro Azul, just 30 minutes from Panama City. It has two covered terraces and a swimming pool. Price? An unbelievably low $90,000!
- In Boquete, the boutique mountain town in the Chiriqui province that’s become somewhat of an expat enclave (although it certainly retains its Panamanian flavor) you can buy a 1600-square-foot two-bedroom home on a large lot, an easy five-minute walk from the heart of the village for just $90,000. It’s equipped with cable TV, Internet, and phone, and you’ll love the shady yard with its lemon, orange, and mango trees.
If beach living is more your style, a property right on the water in the caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro will set you back as little as $92,000
Beach living more your style? You, too, will be happy in Panama:
- On Istmito Beach on the island of Bocas del Toro, there’s a one-bedroom condo in a canary-yellow plantation-style building right smack on the water. It has a big balcony with jaw-dropping views of the Caribbean. Price: just $92,000.
- On the Pacific side, in quiet Gorgona, a new two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with a view of the ocean and the swimming pool is on offer for just $139,000.
When you join us this coming April for International Living’s Live and Invest in Panama Seminar, you’ll hear from all our Panama experts…attorneys, doctors, insurance professionals, construction and real estate experts…who can help you better understand the many benefits and options Panama offers. And who can tell you where to go to find the best quality, the best deals and values…on everything from real estate to moving companies to doctors, spas, restaurants, and more.
You’ll also hear firsthand from others who’ve done what you’re contemplating…expats like Steve Johnson and retired-attorney Jon Nickel. Smart people. They both say that the decision to move to Panama was one of the best they’ve ever made.
You see, despite what’s going on in the rest of the world, Panama’s economy is steadily chugging along.
In fact, while many Latin American economies have been in recession this year, Panama’s economy will be one of few to grow. According to the World Bank, Panama outranks nearly every country in the region in terms of GDP and productivity growth. That’s largely thanks to that Modern Wonder of the World called the Panama Canal …and even despite the fact that traffic passing through the Canal has fallen due to the global recession.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the Panama Canal expansion project—just one of several mega-projects expected to fuel Panama’s economy in the years to come and just one of many reasons the Latin Business Chronicle ranked Panama the number one “growth champion” in the region in its 2010–2015 GDP growth forecast.
Not bad for a ‘Third World’ country, huh? Well, call me biased, but Panama is hardly Third World these days… For instance:
- Panama is more modern than any other Central American country. You can stay at a rainforest resort or an island hostel and still enjoy the same high-speed Internet that you would in Panama City.
- From the expanding international airport at Tocumen, also known as the Hub of the Americas, you can travel anywhere in the world…often on a direct flight
- New cars of every make and model travel safely on perfectly paved roads and highways…the country is small, so you can easily drive from the city to the rural, interior areas, including those gorgeous cool mountains, in just a few hours. See the sun come up over the Caribbean and go down over the Pacific all in one day!
- With historically low inflation, one of the world’s biggest banking sectors, and a business-friendly government with a “go get ‘em” attitude, Panama offers a combination of benefits that no other Central American country can match.