I want to buy a condo in Panama that is not that expensive . Any ideas ?

Question

Some place where I can still work and is close to the city

Thanks

Answer 1

There are a lot of places where to buy... You can look for a place in a Perejil and in the metropolitan area. If you want something cheap don-t look for Paitilla, That's really expensive

Answer 2

Currently the best way to buy a condo in Panama is to buy an older unit.  The new construction can cost up to $3000 a sq meter depending on the location and hype.  In addition the newer units that are being built are on the whole much smaller than the older units, which is fine if you don't need or want much space.  A ball park average of what is being constructed is around 125 to 150 sq meters in the three bedroom (four if you count maids quarters) units.  We just secured a 500 sq meter penthouse for $550,000 in El Cangrejo which we love (been in it a total of a week).

An additional problem with the newer units that is not being talked about much is the supply and demand of building materials.  All the residential towers being built in the city are steel and concrete.  The sand for the concrete is being dredged from the shore lines of Panama, however the demand is so great with the current boom there have been articles in La Prensa about the poor quality of the sand.  It needs to be thoroughly rinsed of salt and they are rushing through this process and taking short cuts to supply the demand.  This means not only is the integrity of the sand compromised, but the steel in the concrete is also compromised since salt oxidizes steel.  

I agree it is wise to stay away from the high end areas for more reasons than just the cost of construction.  The cost of utilities will be higher in these areas as well.  Interestingly enough, the bigger the hype / price of the high rise the bigger the cost of utilities.

Do you have a job offer here?  Work visas are kind of hard to come by.  If you have saving and can meet the requirements of an investors visa you will be more likely to be granted a visa.  Tourist visa have been changed from a 90 visa to a 30 day visa.  So the days of living in Panama on a tourist visa are over unless you don't mind leaving the  country every 30 days.

You can still find places at a good price, but you need to be on the ground here and able to take some time to look around.  They don't just fall in your lap, you have to go out and find them.  We weren't willing to settle for anything less than what we wanted and we looked for a year before we found it.  You may not be as picky as my husband is about location, size, and views but I looked at a TON of property in the year I looked.  I know I haven't but I feel like I've been in every building in the city during the year long search

Happy hunting.

Answer 3

you would get alot more out of buying a house instead of a condo in panama, the amount of money that a house costs down there is the the same amount that a condo would cost in the US.  

If you work close to the city and really want a condo I would say try, El Cangrejo, San Fransisco, Bethania or Bella Vista.

If you want to consider the house option, I would say try Brisas del Golf, Villa Lucre ( a bit farther from the city but  great area) or the Fuente del Fresno area...

Answer 4

Right now (July 2007) the El Cangrejo neighborhood is getting more attention and there is upward pressure on property prices. You'll be hard pressed to find anything in El Cangrejo for under $1,000 per square meter for new construction.

There are some older properties in the El Cangrejo area that are jewels in the rough, especially if you don't mind walking up a floor or two and don't need a pool or social area. Not having a pool or an elevator are major turn-offs for most buyers, but that means you can find huge apartments at discount rates if those issues don't matter to you.

Other areas that are priced lower (right now) are the El Dorado area and Villa de las Fuentes. There are some good opportunities in these areas, especially because the El Dorado area sits next to the Nothern Corridor highway, and within the next two years there will be a beltway system constructed which will allow you to get to practically anywhere in the city without having to fight through so much city traffic. The highway to Colon will soon be finished as well as an overpass at the old "back gate" of Albrook and Clayton. Also, the El Dorado shopping mall just finished a major facelift and there is a new hotel under construction. So, I would suggest considering the El Dorado area as a place to search for value right now, and prices there will rise substantially over the next two years.

Along those same lines you can drop down over the other side of Tumba Muerto into the Bethania area and find value there, especially in single family houses owned by Panamanians who have not awoken to the fact that the country is being stormed by real estate investors. I think that Bethania is another area that will realize big price jumps in less than two years (between Tumba Muerto and Transistmica, close to the city, residential neighborhood, established, off the beaten track, undervalued.)

Another overlooked area of the city is El Carmen. I just found (bought for myself) a two level, 200 square meter apartment, three bedrooms, for $110K or $539 per square meter. Those kinds of deals are still out there but they are harder to find because now more people are looking for them and they tend to get scooped up quickly. El Carmen is a nice area, it's right next to El Cangrejo, shares the same road access and level of security, and is getting completely overlooked right now.

Best Advice - Learn how to spot real value, and position yourself to be able to jump on something should it present itself. Look at a lot of stuff and pretty soon you will see that there's not a whole lot of variation. You'll learn how to identify the variables and why prices are where they are currently. Once you understand the fundamentals, you will be able to spot real value.

Also, don't be afraid of the secondary or used market. If you strip any apartment down to the bare cement walls they are all little more than concrete caves. If you are looking at an old "ugly" property, usually you can do a major facelift for less than $5,000 total that will make it look like a new apartment (paint, wood, and fixtures.)

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 5

There are a lot of options if you want to buy a condo in Panama.  As others have pointed out the best offers are older units in areas not close to the oceanfront.

Honestly I've seen a lot of this questions, and it's really hard to give you an idea without a basic knowledge of your budget, because I don't really know what you consider "not expensive".  Maybe that's 80K, 100K or 200K.

Anyways here's my opinion on the matter.  

Try to look in the El Cangrejo area.  There are some older buildings that you can get some interesting deals.  Some units are around 150 to 170 square meters, and they can go as low as 6 to 8 dollars a square meter depending on how well maintained the building and the apartment is.

There may be some opportunities around San Francisco.  Some may have some nice city views, others may have partial ocean views.

There is an area called La Alameda, and it has some condos.  Nothing really that fancy, but they may do, as they are quite roomy apartments.  Give it a look.

Good luck and remember to look for help if you get lost!