I spotlighted Panama for my readers for the first time in 1998.
I told them I believed this country was the investment opportunity of our lifetime.
In the 27 years since, I’ve put my money where my prediction was.
My husband Lief Simon and I have made 16 property investments in this country.
We have bought pre-construction for rental cash flow…
We’ve bought and renovated a French-colonial building in Casco Viejo for capital appreciation…
We’ve bought commercial space in Panama City…
We’ve built houses and offices…
And we’ve bought land—riverfront, planted with timber, and on the ocean.
In some cases, as the timing has been right, we’ve cashed out.
In most cases, we continue to hold.
For we continue to see this country as the biggest property investment opportunity of our lifetime.
Sure, like every other marketplace, Panama sees ups and downs… but it rides out market cycles quick and rebounds to deliver even more potential.
Panama is a safe haven in a world of instability and uncertainty.
It uses the U.S. dollar, so no exchange rate risk for dollar investors.
And its economy is underpinned by the cash machine called the Panama Canal.
Panama today is also far more developed than it was in 1998 when I first recommended my readers take a close look.
Panama 2025 is a brand-name city.
Meaning you’ve got competition as you work to take your position.
If I were considering Panama for the first time right now, where would I be shopping?
With the banks.
Thanks to connections we’ve made on the ground over the past 27 years we’ve been active in this country, we’re now able to access bank foreclosure lists.
These lists are circulated privately. You won’t find these discounted distress sales on your own.
However, again, we’ve been able to help small circles of readers access what amount to the best buys in all Panama right now…
And to buy for even less than the banks’ “fast sale” discount prices.
I’d say these are among the best buys in the world.
One of our readers, for example, thanks to our introduction, purchased a bank-held four-bedroom, four-bath, 434-square-meter house in a suburb of Panama City…
The market value for this property is $645,000.
The fast sale price set by the bank was $580,500.
Our reader was able to buy the property for $485,000.
That’s a savings of $160,000—a discount of 24.8%—on an impressive private home.
It’s also perhaps more house than most investors might be in the market for.
Another reader shopping straight-up for a rental was able to purchase a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment with a balcony in an iconic building at what’s considered the best address in Panama City, on Avenida Balboa.
The place was in need of renovation, which helps explain why this reader was able to purchase a $265,000 apartment with a fast sale price of $259,207 for just $212,000.
That’s a discount of 20%.
The reader has rehabbed the place into a prime rental.
Here’s the before…
And here’s the after…
Here’s one more example (from among dozens)…
Another reader was able to buy a one-bedroom, two-bath apartment, also on Avenida Balboa, with a market value of $320,500 and a fast sale price of $300,000 for just $225,000.
That’s a savings of $95,500—a discount of 29.7%.
Here’s the apartment…
And here’s the straight-on view from the balcony…
That’ll get renters’ attention.
OK… one more!
Another reader bought a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment with a balcony and a parking space with a market value of $81,127 for just $75,000…
That’s a discount of 7.5%… and a killer first-time buy for someone looking to dip a toe into the world’s #1 property investment market.
Until next time,
Kathleen Peddicord
Founding Publisher, Overseas Opportunity Letter
