Panama has become a destination of choice for English speaking retirees from many countries. A growing population is migrating from the United States. Panama has the unique distinction of almost one hundred years of American presence. Because of the Panama Canal and the long term US occupation of the Canal Zone, Panamanians are accustomed to English speakers and indeed many are bilingual. The cultural gap is less than in Mexico.
Boquete Panama is a unique colony in the remote western mountains of Panama about thirty minutes north of David Panama in Chiriqui Provence. The climate is temperate, the population a mixture of ethnic groups from around the planet.
As the world economy has melted down I was curious about how it has effected the Boquete Panama real estate market. This week I met with Janeth Gomez-Suarez of Casa Solution. Casa Solution is the most visible real estate brokerage in Boquete.
I asked Janeth if houses and properties are selling and if the price structure has dropped as the US and Panama City markets have lowered. I was surprised to hear the Real Estate business in Boquete is alive and well. People are coming to Boquete and shopping for houses. Most sales are in the two to three hundred thousand dollar range for homes. Sellers are a bit more open to offers and some will take less than asking prices. Most sellers are under no pressure to sell so although prices are not increasing, properties are not offered or sold at fire sale prices.
In addition there are many perspective buyers waiting to sell in the US so they can move As the resale housing market in the US recovers this market is set to boom.
The obvious question is why. There are several groups of buyers coming to Boquete. People who are politically disaffected, people who are economic realists and people who just want to change their lives. The politically disaffected come in cycles as the politics in US changes and many current residents left the US under G. W. Bush, the new group dislike the current administration.
A more interesting group are those baby boomers who realize they now have less. Less equity in their homes, less in their retirement savings, less need to consume and a desire to chance a change in exchange for a different life at a lower cost.
Boquete homes and properties are not the least expensive in Panama. The cultural and environmental aspects along with a new pro-investment government are becoming encouraging indicators of future growth. The crystal ball on Boquete seems pretty clear, growth is happening now, growth will continue and accelerate.
In July Business Week called Panama the "New Florida", their reasoning is a mirror of mine and a harbinger of a bright future for Boquete.
Comments
Ohhh please.... enough with the Chamber of Commerce fluff.
Sales are down and Jason knows it!
When is someone in real estate sales gonna tell the real story??
You can purchase a fine home in any desirable location in the U.S. for what you will pay here.
The grid sucks (interruptions everyday). Water supply is worse yet. Just drive down the highway and you will see geysers everywhere. Dengue fever is near epidemic - why doesn't anyone address that? Oh, and let's not forget about crime. Try not putting bars on your windows and see what happens. Come on Lee, get a grip! Since there is NO MLS, Jason can't back up his claims. Let's see some authenticated sales documents. Land of eternal spring - what a joke! With over 200 inches of rainfall per year, eternal winter is more appropriate.
I can substantiate this couples plight:
We have decided to sell the lot due to the fact that a home loan is too difficult to obtain through the local banks and the monthly costs would be beyond any comfort. An eight year loan at my age is just not feasible nor prudent.
I can substantiate this couples plight:
We have decided to sell the lot due to the fact that a home loan is too difficult to obtain through the local banks and the monthly costs would be beyond any comfort. An eight year loan at my age is just not feasible nor prudent.
I agree with what Tired of BS says. You have RE people pushing places like this or Nicarauga that have all kinds of issues for the same price of nice places in Florida or NC. One of the few bright spots south of the border is Belize. Little crime, no bars on windows (if your outside of BZ city). And there are nice places in Mexico too that dont have the issues of most parts of Central Am. And Panama is hotter than hell (except Bouqete).
Fact check, Lee - fact check!
If you're gonna be a big time examiner, you need to be objective and ferret out the facts!
Your recent article in boqueteguide regarding Dan and Jeanie Miller is a case in point.
I rather doubt that "intelligent" folks are abandoning the U.S. to pay $250k - $300k to move to the seedy town of Boquete.
Do you have statistics on the "outflow" of expats who have had enough.
You know, people like Paul Saban who you reported on in boqueteguide.
On the one hand you are advising people to wait until investing in Panama and now you state "The crystal ball on Boquete seems pretty clear, growth is happening now, growth will continue and accelerate."
Which is it, Lee?
Fact check, Lee - fact check!
If you're gonna be a big time examiner, you need to be objective and ferret out the facts!
Your recent article in boqueteguide regarding Dan and Jeanie Miller is a case in point.
I rather doubt that "intelligent" folks are abandoning the U.S. to pay $250k - $300k to move to the seedy town of Boquete.
Do you have statistics on the "outflow" of expats who have had enough.
You know, people like Paul Saban who you reported on in boqueteguide.
On the one hand you are advising people to wait until investing in Panama and now you state "The crystal ball on Boquete seems pretty clear, growth is happening now, growth will continue and accelerate."
Which is it, Lee?
Quote from an August 06, 2008 travel article by By Tim Leffel on MSNBC:
"If you are planning to buy a vacation or retirement home in Central America, you may want to bank some blood ahead of time. Such popular retirement areas as Guanacaste (Costa Rica), Bocas del Toro (Panama) and Boquete (Panama) are considered danger zones for malaria."
Now tell me folks, would you trade a dose of malaria for a questionable administration or equity depreciation?
Wow so much feedback.
Paul and Jenny Sabin left Panama. Since I have no first hand knowledge of what happened I can only point you to the fact there was a traffic accident, two people died and they were asked to stay until it was resolved. They chose to leave. I might have done so under the same circumstances. If it happened in the US or the UK there would also have been an investigation.
As to hold your investment, the Miller's situation. At the request of the attorney for the Millers I cannot add anything to the story for now.
This story was an interview with Casa Solution, as I said the most visible real estate broker in Boquete. I believe the facts are true. I live here and can observe the steady numbers of real estate shoppers. You can buy much more house here for $200,000 than you can in much of the US and sometimes it is more than the house alone. If you buy intelligently you might not have property taxes.
More later
There is no malaria and few mosquitos in Boquete. We are hover seeing Dengue this year. There is no place in the world without it's issues.
Golly, Mr. Zeltzer, seems like you've touched some hot buttons! Today's post (9-4) is a nice generalization of facts of life for any ex-pat, anywhere, yet even with all the adjustments and compromises, I'd not trade the time that I lived there. The farm's a bit more out-country, however, and I must agree with the sentiment that Boquete has been extravagently hyped for gringo sensibilities, based solely upon my personal "metrophobia". There are so many areas of Panama that remain steeped in simple charm and rural character, yet are "convenient to the conveniences". My journey through C.A. has led me to the conclusion that Panama is by far a more amenable country than any other in the western Hemisphere, with the possible exception of Canada!
2009 was a bad year for all real estate companies in Panamá. I know many brokers in Panama City and a few in Boquete that failed to sell a single property in 2009. Jason and CasaSolution managed to weather the storm mainly because they have a good business model and even better work ethic. That being said, I doubt 2009 was a stellar year for them.
2010 on the other hand has been quite good. At least a dozen homes, lots and villas have been sold in Valle Escondido alone. We have seen an influx in buyers from the United States that fear tax increases and other policies with which they disagree. This type of buyer is driving the market right now and will continue to do so in my opinion until the situation in the U.S. stabilizes.
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