March 24, 2010
Panama City, Panama
PLUS:
- "Rush Limbaugh? Why Would You Even Mention Him?"...
- User-Friendly Offshore Banking In The Americas...
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Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
I walked you through cautions, caveats, and criteria related to
shopping for a rental house or apartment in a foreign country yesterday. Armed with those fundamentals, you're ready to launch your search.
If your interest is focused on
Panama, what can you expect to find and at what cost? Here are current rental market overviews and sample rental costs for three key Panama markets...
- In Las Tablas, our pick for low-cost beach living in this country:
"You've got to be kidding me," is the usual reaction resident Panama Editor Rebecca Tyre gets when she tells people how much she pays for her three-bedroom, two-bathroom, three-year-old rental house in this town.
"Living in Las Tablas," Rebecca explains, "I paid less in rent than I spent on groceries each month. My house, which is just five kilometers from Playa Las Comadres and a five-minute walk from downtown, costs just US$200 a month. Friends have similar rental houses and pay between US$250 and US$500 per month."
Rebecca's friend Merrill rents a simple beachfront loft for US$300 a month, for example. Another friend, Rick, recently returned to Canada for six months. He rented his fully furnished, two-bedroom house for US$500...and threw in use of his car.
You won't find deals like these on websites or working with a real estate agent. Generally, they come your way once you've established local relationships. Rick rented his house to a fellow Canadian he knew from around town. Rebecca found her house thanks to a connection through her Panamanian boyfriend.
- In Boquete, home to the biggest and most established expatriate community in Panama:
Rental rates are higher in Boquete than many other places in the country. Expect to pay US$500 to US$1,000 to rent a comfortable house. In a less fan-fared destination in Panama (for example, Las Tablas), you'd pay only US$300 a month to rent this same property.
The market in Boquete operates like the one in Las Tablas--that is, it's mostly word-of-mouth. To get a good deal, you need a local connection. Rentals you find advertised on websites are the priciest. To find something more reasonable, you'll need to visit Boquete in person, asking everyone you meet if he knows of any rentals currently available. Someone you ask will know someone who knows someone who has a cousin or an uncle who is looking to rent his home.
That said, craigslist.com currently lists a one-bedroom, two-bathroom in Boquete, fully furnished house, with satellite television and Internet, on offer for US$500 a month. I haven't seen it, so I can't tell you if it's a place you'd want to live...but it sure is a good deal for the Internet.
- In El Cangrejo, our favorite Panama City neighborhood, cool, hip, safe, welcoming, and increasingly affordable:
When El Cangrejo first became hip among foreigners, mid-last decade, neither renters nor buyers had many options. As a result, property owners could name their price. If you wanted that apartment, you had to be willing to pay the rent being asked...or the person behind you in line likely would be more than happy to pony up. As a result, an apartment that rented for US$400 a month in 2005 could command as much as US$1,400 a month by 2008.
Prices in ever-more-popular El Cangrejo peaked last year and are slowly coming back down to earth. New condominium construction boomed in 2006, and the thousands of units developed at that time are now coming online. This has made both rentals and sales markets more competitive citywide, including in El Cangrejo. Speculators bought multiple pre-construction units thinking they'd be able to rent them out at inflated rates. The problem is that lots of speculators had this same idea. Today you can find 20 identical units for sale or rent in the same building, all at different prices. The speculator who bought pre-construction earliest on can price his unit for less than the guy who bought further along and paid more. Thus the new and growing competition.
Meantime, the multinational companies are becoming wiser. They are still moving in (in ever greater number), but they are no longer willing to pay the super-inflated rental rates of the past. Sellers and apartment owners are having no choice but to be more reasonable in their asking prices and more willing to negotiate than they have been in years, not only on price but on little extras, too, like free gym memberships and first month's rent free.
Rental rates for a new, furnished apartment in El Cangrejo are in the range of US$8 to US$15 per square meter. Older apartment rental units go for less than US$8 a square meter, sometimes, if you're in the right place at the right time, for as little as US$3 a square meter.
A friend just this week rented a 200-square-meter, two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment, just off Via Argentina, El Cangrejo's main thoroughfare, for US$600. The place has air conditioning in both bedrooms and hot water, two luxuries not guaranteed in Panamanian rentals at this price point. Another 200-square-meter apartment in El Cangrejo, this one with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, is available at press time for US$900 a month.
If you prefer newer and fancier, a one-bedroom loft in this neighborhood, furnished, with a gym and a pool in the common area, is currently on offer for US$1,650 per month.
That gives you an idea of the range.
Kathleen Peddicord
Editor's Note: Future installments in this series, which will continue over the coming three months, will feature rental market overviews and current sample rental rates for Argentina, Belize, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Malaysia, Thailand, and Uruguay. Watch this space.
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"Rush Limbaugh?
Why would you even mention him? He's part of what's wrong with the United States today. One reason to leave the USA is to get away from all these kinds of people with these hateful ideas."
-- John D., United States
"I'm uncertain why you deem it necessary to make snarky remarks about Rush Limbaugh in your newsletter. The guy has more money and influence than you'll ever dream. If you listened to him, you might better understand why a lot of us are considering leaving our once great country thus subscribing to your newsletter and purchasing your products."
-- Dennis K., United States
"Kathleen, I am amazed at the accuracy of your dispatches, especially when it comes to the Western Hemisphere, where I spend most of my time.
"I have a question. A few weeks ago, you wrote an article on
Belize with details about the gentleman who is the president of a bank on Ambergris Caye that offers
user-friendly banking for North Americans. I sent him an e-mail in care of the bank, explaining my interest in opening an account and in possibly investing in a second home on the island. Two weeks have passed, and no one has responded. My question this: Is he for real?"
-- Dr. Charlie H., United States
Yes, indeed, Peter Zipper, President of
Belize Bank, is for real. He's also a longtime friend. I've forwarded your follow-up inquiry to him directly. I'm sure you'll hear from him soon.
