The value of property in areas such as Amador, Balboa, Clayton and Albrook, has registered increases of up to 300% in the last ten years.
The proximity to the city, the vegetation surrounding the area and the security offered are some of the factors which have increased the value of these areas. For example, in Clayton, an apartment now worth about $160,000, cost about $35,000 ten years ago.
Predictions are that the office vacancy rate in Panama City, currently 33%, could reach 45% in 2016.
Following that under usage prevailing in the office market rental rates have dropped by up to 30%. In the case of hotels, they are also experiencing this phenomenon, the vacancy rate has fallen by 50% and in turn nightly rates have decreased by 28%.
Development Groups are preparing to build four new high rise luxury apartment buildings in the northwest area of San Pedro Sula.
Private developers announced the launch, in the coming months, of the implementation of high rise construction projects, which will mean an investment of more than $42 million .
"A businessman in construction and infrastructure and advisor to the Mayor of San Pedro Sula, Ernesto Lazarus reported that the minimum investment is $8 million for the construction which is a strong investment in an average of two years during the construction."
Shopping centers and hotels in the city and on the coast are part of the new projects planned for this year and 2015.
Four commercial and mixed-use projects are predicted to boost the sector in 2015. These are City Mall, City Place in Santa Ana, Ocean Mall in Puntarenas and Jacó Beach Walk in in Jaco beach. City Mall and City Place are currently under construction and are projected to start operations in the middle of this year.
There are plans to build a mini-city on the beach in Puntarenas, two mega projects and 6 other smaller works that represent $211 million in investments.
The three largest projects will be developed by local companies in the province of Puntarenas, in the Central and Garabito cantons. "These, together with six other smaller private works, represent investments of over $211 million and the use of more than 164 hectares of land in the next 15 years," noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.
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.
All in one place. In the west of the capital of Costa Rica "mini-cities" are being built which meet the needs of this new lifestyle trend.
In the west of San José, four real estate projects are attempting to impose a new lifestyle. The first is "Avenida Escazú, whose initial phase was started in 2009 (medical towers, cinema, hotel, parking and residences) and which then added more cinemas, restaurants and shops," noted an article in Elfinancierocr.com.
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 search for safe habitats and the shortage of land in the central areas of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, is driving the construction of high rise apartments and gated communities.
The phenomenon occurs mainly in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. "The projects being constructed in the new development areas have emerged in recent years following the decline of the historic center of Tegucigalpa, another trade hub of the city, which has been losing its glamor coupled with a lack of planning policies and a commercial road," reported Laprensa.hn article.
With an investment of $30 million the Croc Casino Resort will be built in Jacó, which will have 17 floors, and is forecast to open in December 2014.
The complex will have 152 rooms and 44 luxury condominium residences as well as a beachfront pool, restaurants, a nightclub, a spa, the "Croc Habitat" retail shops and facilities for meetings and conventions.
In Panama, the district of Chitre, in the province of Herrera, is becoming a boutique metropolis for trade and tourism.
According to the architect Jose del Carmen Perez, a new zoning plan for Chitre by the Ministry of Housing is on the point of being adopted, which allow the construction of buildings over 10 storeys, something that is not allowed under the current plan.
The mini city has become a target for locating companies in offices which now cost $3000 per square meter.
According to an article in Prensa.com "Up to the second half of 2012 there were 139 shops in Costa del Este, with an unemployment rate of 2.23%, one of the lowest in the capital, according to figures from CBRE Panama, consultant real estate. "
During that same period, there were 50,539 meters square under construction, representing one of the submarkets with the greatest amount of development in this location.
The tourism developer Gran Pacifica is planning to complete the Gran Pacifica villa with 300 homes, hotels and condominiums, golf courses and parks, according to the master plan for investment.
Laprensa.com.ni reports that "Leveraging the signs of recovery shown in some of the world’s economies, which seem to have withstood the roughest stage of the global crisis, the tourism developer Gran Pacifica is expanding its growth targets toward agribusiness, energy generation and mining, without abandoning its goal of consolidating residential tourism. "
In light of a better investment climate, construction has resumed of the luxury oceanfront condominium project, after becoming stalled two years ago.
Milagro del Mar was designed to create an exclusive community within the Gran Pacífica, with 122 condominiums, 20 villas, swimming pools with waterfalls and a pool by the ocean, a gym, a restaurant and a convenience store.
In Muxbal, between markers 10k and 13k from the old road to El Salvador, three new shopping centers will soon be opened.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports that " Grupo Pucom is building the ‘Vista a Muxbal’ complex at kilometer 9.5; Grupo Tir is developing Minuto Muxbal at kilometre 13, while MU Inmobiliaria (Mauricio Urruela) is constructing Shops at Muxbal at kilometer 13.5. '