Joel is very good at internet research. He found a few things I’d like to share.
The first was written in January, 2011 but it’s still very useful and detailed information about buying real estate in Panama, the pros and cons, working with an agent, and a lot more. If you are considering buying property in Panama it’s well worth reading.
https://www.panamaequity.com/blog/blood-on-the-streets-panama-real-estate-market-review/
The second article is by the Panama Relocation Tours people. I am getting more and more respect for them for their very realistic and useful advice. They truly want to help potential expats rather than make money off them. Read this one too if you are thinking about buying property here.
https://panamarelocationtours.com/is-there-any-affordable-real-estate
(If you are considering one if their highly recommended tours, use my link. https://panamarelocationtours.com/?ref=7 Thank you 😊)
Then, there is this more general post about the pros and cons of Panama by this family who made their home here.
https://insidepanamarealestate.com/blog/relocation/panama-pros-cons-guest-post-by-trey-morrison
If you are thinking about buying property in Panama, please do it with your eyes open. This is NOT the USA, Canada, or wherever you’re from. Things aren’t the same, and may not be what they appear to be. Of course you can find a great property and make a happy life, but you can also have some nasty surprises or fall victim to someone who does not represent your interests, which would be very unfortunate.
And, RENT first. LIVE in the area you are thinking of buying. Get to know the area, the people, the prices, and the features you will need. Panama runs on relationships and you will do much better when you know people. Your perfect property may not even be officially for sale. Maybe your neighbor’s coworker’s friend’s aunt wants to sell something good. You just never know!
Best wishes, good luck, and do your homework.
The Panama Adventure 
I have a friend who owns a nice TITLED finca up near Rio Sereno in the mountains near the Costa Rican border she’s interested in selling. She will be down there in late June if anyone’s interested. Kris, I sent you a picture in a FB message a while back and you can see it’s NOT a shack.
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Well there you go! Word of mouth, a nice home in a gorgeous area…. I thought she had a buyer. If not I’d be happy to post something about it on the blog. It really is a wonderful area. I visited a friend’s brother once and he was growing everything you could imagine since it’s cooler.
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Kris, you give excellent advice. It’s good to know there’s a company that’s truly a service. Local, professional advice is really valuable. I understand the desire to own where you live, but if you find the right landlord a rented place is still a good, stable home. Oh, and those earthquakes! Wow. I knew Costa Rica got them but didn’t know the shakes went into Panama.
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We thought we would want to own too when we first got here, but we love this house and our landlords are great, and it just makes more sense at this stage of our lives.
Yes, we get earthquakes too.
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Hi Kris. Hey I know this question is out of the ordinary but I’ll ask you anyway. What do you know about Simply Natural if anything. They are selling land parcels of organic fruits that are managed locally by a Panamanian company. They offer high returns on ones investment. Curious if you have heard anything about them on your side of the border.
Thanks and keep up the great blogs. I for one enjoy the reads..! Alan
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Hmm, no, I know nothing. There is a busy Facebook group though (Expats in Panama) so I asked there. I’ll let you know if there are any responses.
Thanks, glad you enjoy the blog 😊
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