Invest Panama IncThe Opportunities
Panama's property boom has created huge opportunities.
Mortgages are more difficult to get in Panama than they have been in the UK and the USA. The deposit required is generally higher: 70% mortgage is the norm; 80% is sometimes achievable but generally no more. therefore more people are forced to rent rather than buy. This has the obvious effect of increasing rents achievable.
Mortgages are also more difficult to obtain for non-residents than they are for residents. The banks are loath to take on the risk of lending money to people they don't know and cannot reach. Invest Panama will obtain the mortgage, and stand responsible for it to the bank.
Developer financing is available on new construction projects, but this tends to be more expensive and with more strings attached than loans from a bank.
The credit crunch has had little effect on Panama's banking system. The banks in Panama have always been very conservative, they never did loan money to sub-prime individuals, and they haven't given 100% mortgages. Therefore Panama's housing market is not feeling the effect of the credit crunch.
Coupled with this is the large influx of foreigners, both as pensioners retiring from the USA and Europe, and employees coming to work on the $10bn expansion of the canal and the $10bn oil refinery projects.
Demand for property, both as somewhere to live and as holiday lets, is increasing every day. Property in Panama has many years of appreciation to go.
Add to this the booming tourist industry and you have great rental potential with high capital appreciation.