Country Article / Postcards

City, Beaches, Mountains: Panama's Real Estate Markets

Date: 05/25/2006

Dear International Living Reader,

Panama has four active real estate markets--Panama City, the Pacific Coast, the highlands of Chiriqui Province, and the Caribbean Coast. Earlier this month, I led a group of IL readers through two of these markets: We explored Panama City, and the beaches and communities immediately to the west.

It’s the ideal way to familiarize yourself with Panama. Flying in to Tocumen International is easy, with lots of direct connections to the U.S. Panama City is full of places to stay, eat, play, and explore. And a short drive across the famous Bridge of the Americas over the Panama Canal brings you to a startling string of Pacific coast beaches and towns, each with its own distinctive character and charm.

For many of the readers in our small group, beach is what it’s all about, and Panama has some of the best. This country is also rich in thoughtful and creative developers, and many of the beaches we visited were graced (or soon would be) by quality residential complexes featuring everything from all-inclusive food service and nightly shows to championship golf courses and luxuriant outdoor meditation gardens.

Panama City stretches back from Avenida Balboa and the bay front for miles; in the current rush to own bay front condos, some of the nicest residential neighborhoods here are being ignored…for now.

Fly into David, the capital city of Chiriqui Province (which the locals regard almost as a separate country à la the Conch Republic in the Florida Keys) and you’ll find mountain retreats just minutes away. Lush highland farm and dairy land here is reminiscent of the Swiss Alps--just ask one of the Swiss expats who live here.

On the other side of the mountains is the San Blas area on Panama’s western Caribbean coast. It’s everything you’d expect a Caribbean destination to be…lots of beautiful beaches, quiet lagoons, and leaping dolphins. It’s also on the cusp of a major development boom which, combined with some thorny title issues, qualifies it for “Wild West” designation among Panama’s real estate markets.

Dan Prescher
Roving Latin America Property Scout, International Living

P.S. We’re running a similar Panama real estate tour next month, June 15 - 18 (follow the link for complete details). We keep these real estate tours small--the maximum limit is 40 attendees--to keep everyone focused, and to let you get up-close and personal with these active segments of the Panama market.