Panama Investor Blog

Surge of Boomer migration to Honduras, Guatemala and Costa Rica

The exodus continues to grow and the competition is heating up!

Mis en ligne le 27/03/2006

Warmth, cheap living and heavenly environments are drawing baby boomers south of the border of the United States. Honduras, Guatemala, Costa Rica are becoming prime retirement destinations for the boomer generation. Real estate prices are spiralling; beachfront developments and private hospitals are mushrooming along with rising levels of crime and environmental degradation.

Credit Suisse 2006 report on Panama is very positive!

This is a detailed March 2006 report on Panama from the respected Credit Suisse which is very positive on the future of this country. You can download the PDF file here.

Download panama_credit_suisse_march_2006.pdf

You will need Adobe reader to open this file.

Buyers seem to like the idea of a gated community

Richard White | Special to the Sentinel
Posted April 9, 2006

Question: Do you have any statistics that show whether a gated community is a positive or negative feature, especially in regards to resale?

Answer: I'll answer this from experience, because no statewide studies have been made comparing crime statistics with gated and nongated communities. Real estate sales training says that sales are made to prospective buyers looking for specific amenities and lifestyles.

Survey: Most in Panama Want Canal Expanded

Looks more and more as if the referendum will pass. That will make the boom even bigger. Now, where will we get all the labor to build homes and a canal? A good challange.

PANAMA CITY, Panama — More than 56 percent of Panamanians said they will vote for a multi-billion-dollar extension of the Panama Canal in a referendum later this year, according to a survey released Sunday.

   

Only 19 percent said they will vote against the expansion while 24 percent said they were undecided in the study by the polling company Dichter and Neira.

Panama: Final Frontier for Real Estate Value

This just in from the Sovereign Society.

Today's Comment is by Eric Roseman, Investment Director of The Sovereign Society and editor of Commodity Trend Alert and Global Mutual Fund Investor.

Dear A-Letter Reader:

Avoid US real estate. That's the word from one of the world's premier real estate moguls: Tom Barrack, Chairman and CEO of Colony Capital. Barrack has earned a fortune in real estate during his career, buying distressed properties at bargain prices and selling them after prices soar. Barrack believes the US offers poor values in most regions today. Miami and San Diego are the most expensive and therefore ripe for big declines. The 58-year-old real estate titan is now selling his US holdings because he's afraid a real estate bust is coming as construction and labor costs continue to soar.

One third of Brits seek property abroad

From what I have witnessed at the SIMA show in Spain this article is spot on. For Panama this is a huge market with a few hurdles to overcome. Distance and Language. We certainly win on price and weather.

The Brits' love of property and of property investment is legendary and it appears to be a passion that is growing stronger.

Partly thanks to the number of property investment programmes on television, more and more couples are deciding to retire abroad, while thousands of others decide to invest in foreign property to make money through a mixture of capital growth and rental income.

According to a new survey, almost a third of Britons say they are interested in buying property abroad or indeed moving abroad, with Spain continuing to lead the way in Europe.

Based on research from Banco Halifax Hispania, the Spanish arm of Halifax, America and Australia are the favourite choices for potential property buyers, however, which is perhaps tied to family issues.

Residential Tourism Show in Madrid

It has been three full days of attendance at the Sima fair in Madrid and what an experience it has been. I am AMAZED at the number of projects all over the world being built for the growing market of people retiring. There were ten halls each bigger than ATLAPA full of project models and high tech displays of lifestyle choices. I spoke with one of the fair organizers and she told that this was the 5th year of the fair and each year it gets bigger. In 2000 they had just one hall and now ten.

 

Los Faros De Panama

Reporting from the residential tourism fair in Madrid;

There are 6 Panama booths here in the fair and one  group, who by far and away, has the best and biggest display on Panama is Grupo Mall. The project they are highlighting is the Los Faros De Panama. This is a mega project to be started soon in Punta Pacifica. Its massive size dwarfs everything around it. The Americas office  building, which seems so large now, will appear small next to this giant. We will have more details on this in an upcoming report. For now take a look at the display in these photos.

Business people flocking to Costa Rica

Here is an interesting article about developers moving into Costa Rica from Minneapolis. The same can be said for Panama.

When Wayne Bishop visited Costa Rica 12 years ago, he was wowed by the country's natural beauty, but he was even more taken aback by its investment potential.

"If you had any entrepreneurial nose, you could see the raw opportunity there," he said. "Most developments have been mom-and-pop operations. ... There's an opportunity for them to be properly planned, Western style."

"Island law" Explained

I have reported on the law #2 regarding islands in the past. The following article is the clearest explanation I have read regarding the new law.

Noted Panamanian attorney Juan Pardini was instrumental in bringing this important law forward and here he explains the benefits of the new law and its effects on foreign investment.

The New Panama Island Law
       2006-03-29
      

INTRODUCTION

 

During recent years,

Panama

has become a top destination for tourists, investors and retirees from all over the world. Most retirees or “pensionados” come looking for more friendly, secure and affordable communities, such as Boquete, Volcan, the Caribbean islands of Bocas del Toro, the Pacific beaches and, of course, cosmopolitan Pa