Panama City Highs

According to local property experts, property values are rapidly increasing in Panama’s most sought-after areas.

The average property sales price surged by 21% from January 2015 to June 2017 in Panama's metropolitan area, according to the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) as reported by La Estrella de Panama. However, despite this significant increase, house prices in panama are still around 10% below the peak levels observed before the 2008 global financial crisis. Nonetheless the economy is expected to expand by 6% this year and by another 5.5% in 2020, according to the IMF.

Supply and demand in both property sales and construction activity rose strongly in 2018, fuelled by strong economic growth. Significant foreign property demand, particularly from the U.S., Canada, Venezuela and Colombia, has also attributed to the increase, with the majority of property sales in Panama West, particularly Arraijan and La Chorrera, thanks to the construction of Line 2 of the Metro. A typical city centre apartment of 120 sq. m. has a buying price of around $432,720, a rate per month of $2,075 and a yield of 5.75%.

Property prices are further bolstered by large public works projects, including a second and third metro line, an urban renewal of Colón and the expanded Suez Canal which will boost transits from larger ships on the eastern US-Asia route, helping the country grow by an average of 4.6% annually from 2017 to 2018.