For Sale in ... Panama - The New York Times

The New York Times

International Real Estate

For Sale in ... Panama

By LISA KEYS

Published: April 6, 2010

A THREE-BEDROOM THREE-AND-A-HALF-BATH LAKEFRONT

The New York Times

Twelve miles from Panama City, Lake Las Cumbres is a popular fishing and boating destination.

$1.1 MILLION

Set on the shores of the lake in Las Cumbres, a wooded area 12 miles northwest of Panama City, this 1,000-square-meter (10,764-square-foot) home was built in 1999. The brick-and-concrete structure has three stories and an open-air sitting area with a roof; there is also an outbuilding on the property.

The entrance to the main house is on the second floor, which has an entry hall with a glass elevator. The open kitchen is on this level, with glass-and-wood cabinets, blue tiled countertops and a built-in breakfast table made of concrete and brick. The open living and dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows and a wooden balcony. There is a half bath off the living room and a laundry room off the kitchen.

Upstairs the master suite has lake views, two offices, a Jacuzzi with a skylight above it, a walk-in closet and an en-suite bath. A tiled terrace is off the bedroom.

Downstairs are two additional bedrooms, each with an en-suite bath. There is also a patio.

Outside on the two-and-a-half-acre property is a swimming pool with a deck and waterfall, and a 50-square-meter (540-square-foot) roofed structure called a “rancho.” This has a built-in bar and cabinets, a dining and barbecue area, and space for hanging hammocks.

A separate two-story structure, built into the hillside, has a gym and a guest room, each with its own bath, and roof-level parking for four cars.

The property has abundant vegetation, including mango and plantain trees, and ficus and coffee plants. It is not unusual to sight toucans and sloths. The property has about 100 meters of shoreline on Las Cumbres Lake, a popular destination for boating and swimming. Tocumen International Airport is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) away.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Panama has spent much of the past decade in a real estate boom, with prices rising quickly and a steady stream of new construction. The economic crisis may have slowed the frenzy of the market, but prices have not fallen sharply.

“There is a lot of construction going on,” said Jaime Figueroa Navarro, chief executive of Panama All In One, a real estate investment company. “There are a lot of buildings being built. Every day there are more and more cranes.”

Panama’s economy continues to grow, if more slowly than in years past. The reasons for the growth, said Jianella Torres, a broker at New World Real Estate in Panama City, include the development of an area called Panama Pacifico, a 5,000-acre tract just outside of town that was once a United States air base, as well as Panama’s status as the second-largest free-trade zone in the world. Shoppers from all over the Americas and the Caribbean come in search of tax-free deals.

All of which has kept prices from crashing hard, Ms. Torres said. High-end properties have generally retained their value, while less expensive properties have fallen 10 to 20 percent, she said.

Today, housing prices for new construction in Panama City range from about $1,500 a square meter ($139 a square foot) in the San Francisco area, a middle-class coastal neighborhood, to $2,500 to $4,000 a square meter ($232 to $372 a square foot) in waterfront areas like Punta Pacifica and Balboa Avenue, said Yovana Medina, general manager at Knightsbridge Investment Group, a Panama City real estate company. Older properties sell for about 15 percent less than newer ones, she said.

Unlike the high-rises of Panama City, the majority of homes around Las Cumbres Lake are single-family houses on large lots. They typically range from $700,000 to $1 million. Homes on the road connecting Panama City to Las Cumbres are far cheaper, she added.

WHO BUYS IN PANAMA CITY

Ms. Medina says foreign buyers have been increasingly drawn to Panama City, among them Americans, Venezuelans, Canadians, Colombians and European Union residents.

Most foreigners in Panama City are seeking properties in the $150,000-to-$250,000 range, according to Ms. Torres. “They’re buying a condo in the city, something very well located, that can be rented out,” she said, “so they can get some money until they retire” in the area.

BUYING BASICS

There are no restrictions on foreign ownership. The seller pays all agent fees and taxes; the only financial burdens on the buyer are lawyer fees, which typically range from $1,500 to $2,000, Ms. Medina said.

Foreigners can obtain about 70 percent financing; interest rates run 6.25 to 6.75 percent.

WEB SITES

Panama Canal Authority: pancanal.com/eng/index.html

Panama Tourism Bureau: visitpanama.com

LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY

Spanish; Panamanian balboa, American dollar (1 balboa= $1)

TAXES AND FEES

Annual property tax is 2.1 percent of the selling price, or $23,100.

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