March 2011 Newsletter

This month we explore the ebb and flow of Panama real estate: from gigantic infrastructure projects to shortages in supply (not an April Fool’s joke). We take a look at price drops on the famous Avenida Balboa as well as a new company using sea planes to explore Panama’s hundreds of islands. Never a dull moment!

For those of you that have been following our neighborhood reports, you will remember that we published findings of a pricing-trend study we commissioned for the Avenida Balboa district about 10 months ago.  This is a follow up to that report.Developer’s published pricing on their yet-to-be-delivered condo units along Avenida Balboa have come down just under 5% over the last 10 months.   According to interviews with agents representing Habitats Realty, Bern, Btesh and Virzi, and Cityland,  buyers are still coming in from places like Russia, Europe, and of course Venezuela, but demand from the North American market has slowed down significantly.

Price lists for the following projects in construction:  Rivage, Waters, White, Arts Tower, Yoo, and Villa del Mar show anywhere from 60-95% of the units as marked “Sold or Reserved”.  The important question, which only time will tell, is how many of the buyers are prepared to close.

As a supplement to our data, gathered by canvassing buildings, interviewing developers, and compiling listing data online, we have also started what may be Panama’s first shared MLS, designed in-house to capture sales data from fellow brokers. Think of this as a compiled and shared sales history from Panama’s top-selling agencies.

Over 450 units have been delivered in the last 12 months, which represents a 32% increase in total constructed inventory.

Trends:  We are hearing from residents along Balboa avenue that the noise situation has improved significantly with the phase in of the new buses, however Panama is and will remain a very noisy city.

Average price per square meter in a building less than five years old has seen a 9% price reduction in the last ten months, from $2,320 to $2,097 per square meter.

Rental demand for high end, fully furnished two bedroom units like Sky, Destiny, and H20 remains strong, with average days on market for a competitively priced unit($2,000/month or less) at less than 30 days.

Over the past few months, we have worked with several high-profile families relocating to Panama, all of whom were looking for a 4,000 square foot, four bedroom condo in Punta Pacifica for under $1MM.  The sad fact is that there are very few buildings offering this type of floor plan and even fewer in construction.  Our short list of options included one very beautiful condo in the Pacific Point project (a total remodel, with a fourth bedroom added), a Penthouse in the Aquamare building, Blue Bahia, and a unit in the Bahia Pacifica project.  That was it!

We ended up finding something that they loved in one of the buildings above, only because there wasn’t much to choose from!  If you’re looking for a high end investment property, rest assured there’s a market for it.  Let us know and we’ll match you up with a seller and a tenant without issue!

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That’s all folks!  Remember, we’re still the hardest working real estate agency in Panama.  If you like what you see, forward this email to a friend using the buttons on the bottom.