From September 9 to 10, the VI Latin American Real Estate Congress CILA 2021 will be held in Ciudad Cayala, in zone 16 of the country's capital city, an event that will analyze opportunities to buy properties in the region and the reality of real estate sales in the post-pandemic era.
The Congress, which will be held under the theme "A new beginning in the real estate world", will offer conversations and panel discussions between Latin American countries, corporate stands for sponsors and virtual networking rooms.
Because office buildings are empty, stores are open only a few hours, and hotel occupancy rates are considerably low in this health crisis, the outlook for commercial real estate has been clouded and an uncertain future is projected.
Containment measures taken over the last year in response to the pandemic have closed stores and offices, and dealt a severe blow to demand for commercial real estate, particularly in the retail, hospitality and office segments, according to an analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Identifying the best areas to invest in, knowing what type of property is in demand in each area, whether you are looking for more rentals or sales, homes or offices, or in which segments of the population there is more demand for each type of property, is part of what can now be analyzed using modern Big Data techniques.
The real estate market is not alien to the new reality focused on analyzing large volumes of information and making business decisions based on data.
Investors and entrepreneurs in the global real estate sector will be meeting from 21st to 26th of May in Panama City to discuss issues such as project finance and marketing trends.
The World Congress of the International Federation of Real Estate Professionals (FIABCI) will be held this year in Panama City, and is expected to include the participation of representatives of companies linked to the housing market from all continents.
20 years ago for every apartment for sale in a high rise building there were 9 houses on offer, whereas today the ratio is 50-50.
The construction of residential buildings in the city has been driven by the increased purchasing power of immigrants and the integration of the underground transport system.
Nowadays people prefer to buy a home that is close to the areas where they are underground stations.
The well positioned area of Coco del Mar, in Panama City, will be designated as high density, allowing the construction of residential and office buildings.
The Ministry of Housing and Land Management has made changes to the zoning of the area adjoining via Cincuentenario, between Calle 50 and Calle Republica de la India, changing its classification to RM3-C2, which allows the construction of high-rise residential and office buildings.
Benzar Holdings has invested over $40 million in Atrium Mall, which will boast 14,500 m² to retail space.
The new mall, construction of which is expected to be finished in about two years, will also have seven rooms for art cinemas, a play area, a spa, restaurants and bars.
Prensa.com reports: "The new shopping center (which will be added to the other major ones stationed in the capital city) will serve a growing market in Costa del Este, Santa Maria Golf & Country Club and Chanis as well as new developments on the way to Tocumen International Airport. "
The residential market in Panama City remains stable, with slightly increased demand for Class A buildings at 74%, up 2% on the prior period.
CBRE Panama submitted its report on the housing market for the first half of 2012:
The residential market in Panama City has remained stable in the first half of 2012, showing an absorption rate of 74% in Class A buildings compared to 72% in the previous period.
Demand for luxury properties in Panamanian coastal areas has grown and it is not unusual to end up paying up to $1,800 per square meter.
Residential projects, depending on their proximity to the beach and how well esteemed the area is, in many cases can exceed a million dollars.
The most sought after are the banks of the Pacific, starting in the Capira district, continuing through the area of Coronado, San Carlos and Farallon in Cocle.
The Panamanian group of companies, Convivienda projects sales in 2012 amounting to $665 million with the delivery of 7,429 homes.
The director of the national council of housing developers, explained that the with the Preferred Interest Act raising the ceiling on the value of homes which can benefit to $120,000 will help... "the middle class above all, because there are more chances to get a house for a longer period", reported Panamaamerica.com.pa
The economic and tourism boom has created an inordinate amount of investment in hotels, which is threatening to lower the occupancy rate to unsustainable levels.
The opening of more than 20 hotels has been announced for 2012, adding 6,000 rooms to the inventory offered by Panama, and representing an annual increase of 300% in the hotel supply, while the increase in the number of visitors to the country during 2011 grew by - 13%, which although significant, is far below what would be needed to keep up the hotel occupancy rate, which currently stands at 66%.
Great interest is being taken in land and homes in areas near to the new Metro stops.
Real estate industry representatives agree on declaring areas where underground stations will be located "gold mines".
The price per square meter could rise to the same values or even higher as those currently paid on Avenida Balboa, the area considered the most expensive in Panama. Today the price per square meter on Balboa Avenue is approximately $2,300.
In the past two years, the value of constructions in the district of Arraijan, in the central-western part of the Province of Panama, rose to $200 million.
Of all the money invested, $97 million corresponds to non-residential projects.
According to the President of the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) commercial and real estate investments are continuing to grow to the west, even as far as Capira.
In Panama, the construction sector is seeing the same high levels of growth that existed before the crisis, however residential properties prices are falling.
Unlike other countries in the region, the effect of the global recession of 2008 on property investment in Panama was not very serious. The slight impact resulted in a small reduction in prices and a decrease in the growth rate of new constructions.