Monday, October 14, 2013

AMCHAM Panama hosts its 4th Real Estate Forum on Panama City Urban Zoning

At least once each year the AMCHAM Panama Real Estate Committee holds its Forum which addresses timely issues within the sector and offers information and solutions to attendees

The American Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Panama is pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Real Estate Forum to be held on October 16, 2013 from 11:30 am – 3:00 pm at the Miramar Inter-Continental Hotel. The forum “Urban Zoning: The Metro and the Streets. Where do I park?” will focus on urban planning in Panama City and how the new Metro and road infrastructure projects affect real estate in Panama City. The speakers include Henry Kardonski, General Manager , London and Regional Panama; Juan Manuel Vasquez, Director of Municipal Works and Construction , Panama City Mayor's Office ; Roberto Roy, Executive Secretary, Panama Metro Authority; and Jaime Ford, Minister of Public Works of the Republic of Panama.

Pamela Oakes, Chair of the AMCHAM Panama Real Estate Committee and event planner, said “we are very pleased to bring together these speakers whose projects affect our daily lives and will have a profound effect on real estate. Panama is undertaking major infrastructure projects such as building the country’s first metro system and redesigning the city’s roads and highways. Proper planning is required to ensure that upon their conclusion the traffic in Panama City improves and commuters will have better options.”

AMCHAM Panama’s Real Estate Committee has created and adopted an industry Code of Ethics to which all member real estate service providers must adhere in order to be part of an exclusive referral network. The Committee has become a good source of business for real estate service providers who have sworn to abide by AMCHAM’s Real Estate Committee’s Code of Ethics.

One of the Committee’s primary goals is to disseminate accurate information to the public about the Real Estate industry, so that investors may meet the challenges and avoid many of the problems involved in purchasing real estate and relocating to Panama. At least once each year the Committee holds its Real Estate Forum with the valuable support of corporate sponsors, which addresses timely issues within the sector and offers information and solutions to attendees.

About The American Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Panama (AmCham Panama)

Founded in 1979, AMCHAM Panama http://www.panamcham.com is a non-profit, non-political, independent, voluntary association supported primarily by its members. Much of the organization's work is accomplished through the efforts of volunteer member committees which collaborate to help AMCHAM promote free enterprise in Panama. AmCham Panama has over 450 active members, from small local companies to major multinational companies based in the United States.

For additional information contact Maria Florencia Suarez +507 301-3881, email realestate @panamcham.com or go to http://www.panamcham.com/en/events/view/730

Monday, August 12, 2013

Panama: Real estate on solid foundations

Latin America | 7 Aug 2013

The real estate market in Panama is edging towards maturity, buoyed by the booming economy, a major national spend on infrastructure and ample liquidity in the financial system.

Initial estimates from the national statistics agency (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo) suggest the sector expanded by 9% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013, having notched up average growth of 7.8% in 2012 and 9% in 2011.

Panama City, home to nearly a third of the population, has been the centre of real estate activity over the past decade, with high-end residential, retail and commercial development combining to produce strong growth. New shopping malls and residential complexes have reshaped the skyline, alongside several hotels, evidence of the evolving tourism sector.

The city’s market for office space has been supported by strong macroeconomic growth and new business-friendly legislation, including the setting up of an incentive regime for multinational companies using Panama as a base for regional operations.

Vacancy rates for Class A office projects dropped to 7% from 12% in the second half of 2012, with the average monthly lease rate edging up from $23.30 per sq metre to $24.41, according to a study conducted by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE). New construction of Class A office space eased to pre-2009 levels in the same period, however, suggesting demand could now be levelling off.

CBRE’s study found Panama City’s residential market to be relatively stable. New unit construction eased, in keeping with a rising 76% absorption rate and falling sale prices for Class A real estate. The gross absorption rate across the wider market stood at 77%, with a total of 3346 units reserved from 4330 under construction.

However, there are signs that the retail market in Panama City could be edging towards occupancy saturation. Monthly lease rates fell from $41.31 per sq metre to $40.16 in the second half of last year, while vacancy levels in shopping centres rose from 6.1% to 9.1%. An additional 97,325 sq metres of new retail space was under construction as of late 2012.

Despite its overall impressive growth levels, Panama’s real estate market faces a number of challenges. The country ranked 75 out of 97 nations in the 2012 Global Real Estate Transparency Rankings, behind Mexico (43), Argentina (58) and Costa Rica (70). Jones Lang LaSalle, which publishes the list, described Panama’s transparency level as “low”, adding that a lack of both sophisticated investment vehicles and general market fundamentals were instrumental in determining the country’s position.

Panama also faces a major national housing shortage. The most recent estimates from the Ministry of Housing (Ministerio de Vivienda y Ordenamiento Territorial, MIV), published in 2010, put the shortfall at 136,665 units, against total national supply of 896,050.

The MIV launched a series of social housing programmes in 2010 as part of a target to reduce the shortfall to 30% and increase supply by 4.6%. Once completed, the five-year programme, backed by a $576m investment package, is expected to have benefitted an estimated 344,000 Panamanians. With $268.8m still to be spent, work is expected to accelerate during the second half of 2013 and through 2014.

The real estate sector is expected to continue maturing, with both the private and public sector helping to drive it forward. The government took a small, but significant step forward in May 2012, when it amended its regulations to create a new tax and financial framework covering the purchase and sale of real estate property. The legal changes paved the way for the introduction of key incentives aimed at supporting the housing market, including more favourable interest rates for first-time buyers and tax exemptions for residential home improvements. Ongoing support from the government, together with sustained growth in the private sector, will set the real estate market on course for further expansion in the medium to long term.

For full text see http://www.oxfordbus inessgroup.com/

More information is available in http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/product/report/report-panama-2013

Monday, July 29, 2013

Retiring Way, Way South of the Border in Panama

REAL ESTATE

July 25, 2013, 7:21 p.m. ET

Retiring Way, Way South of the Border

Americans are starting to head into Central America for retirement, lured by luxury real estate and eased residency requirements.

By KATY MCLAUGHLIN

When Steven and Robin Fine started searching for a place in Latin America to spend their early retirement, they looked at spots in Mexico and Costa Rica, both popular destinations for American retirees. On a trip two years ago, they decided to stop by Panama, too.

"We thought we would like Panama the least," Mr. Fine, 51 years old, a former communications executive said, "but we liked it the best."

The combination of luxury apartment buildings, good restaurants and modern hospitals drew the couple to Panama City, where 1½ years ago they spent $1.1 million, plus about $250,000 on renovations, on a 48th-floor penthouse with a view of the Pacific. It is now their full-time home.

The Central American nations of Panama, Belize and Nicaragua are increasingly competing with Costa Rica and Mexico for North American retirees and second-home buyers. New luxury developments, outfitted with spas, restaurants, marinas and golf courses, are on the rise. Builders say they are using more high-end materials and adding upscale amenities designed to appeal to affluent American buyers.

Bobby Pereira for The Wall Street Journal

Steven and Robin Fine renovated a $1.1 million, 48th-floor penthouse in Panama City.

These countries offer packages of residency and breaks on taxes and fees that imitate Costa Rica's pensionado program, which was introduced in 1971 and helped set the groundwork for a boom in retiree emigration from North America. Nicaragua added such a law in 2009, offering foreigners with retirement incomes tax breaks on everything from cars to construction materials. Last year, Panama, which has a long-established retiree program, created a path to citizenship for retirement residents and introduced a new residency program for people under retirement age that has lowered requirements for investment in property, business and other ventures.
Despite their inroads with American retirees, these countries still don't attract the same numbers as more established destinations, such as Mexico and Costa Rica. In 2011, more than 50,000 Americans collected Social Security in Mexico and more than 5,000 in Costa Rica. But Mexico's well-publicized drug war and escalating violence are starting to push Americans to look at new places for retirement. Central America, however, has its own problems with crime.
The U.S. Department of State labeled the crime rate in Nicaragua "critical" and the murder rate in Belize "extremely high," though concentrated in Belize City and not in tourist areas. In Costa Rica, petty crime such as theft and "smash and grab" muggings have increased in the past couple of years, along with home invasions. In Panama, murders and gun violence have decreased in recent years, but reported rape and theft have increased.
"Panama remains relatively safe when compared with other Central American countries, yet crime rates are higher than one would encounter in most of the United States," says the State Department's 2013 report.
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For the full text, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324879504578599770182918926.html