The latest addendum to the contract between ICA and the State gives the construction company 12.4 hectares where they can build on top of landfill of the ocean floor as compensation for the expansion of the Southern Corridor. However, the Constitution does not allow the award of the seabed to private hands. Even the Ministry of Finance did not allow a similar landfill in Amador, and cited this same constitutional provision. Voices that have criticized the purchase of the shares of ICA ensure the landfills are illegal. Nevertheless, high government figures described the operation as an "excellent" business. Last night the deputy finance minister, Dulcidio De La Guardia, said the transaction is 'necessary'. (La Estrella)

Editor's Comment: You see that little man made island out there in the middle of the bay? Now, imagine that expanded to 12.4 hectares and privately owned by the ICA company. The government has granted the rights to build on the ocean floor (landfill) as part of the contract, which is now being challenged on Constitutional grounds. Panama's Constitution does not allow anyone to own the beaches or the ocean floor. And of course someone will sue. And of course the case will go nowhere and the government will do whatever they want. That's because Martinelli has the Supreme Court in his back pocket. Next!

By Kent Davis for Panama-Guide.com - The Trump Panama Hotel and Residences will be open on July 6th, and the Ocean Club Baylofts are already starting to receive their first residents. It’s an exciting time for the project, and all signs point to a successful “grand opening” next week! Here’s what we know: At $4.08/meter on the residence side, the monthly fees are significantly higher than any other building in Panama. Residents will receive free cable, free internet, free phone service, and free water which takes a bit of the “sting” out of paying nearly twice as much as what other owners in panama are paying. To our clients in places like Miami and Las Vegas, who are probably paying three times that amount now, it’s a bargain. And the 20 year property tax exoneration has been approved, meaning 0 property taxes for 20 years.

Beach Club on Isla Viveros is in construction. The Trump Panama catamaran will be running daily nonstops from Panama City to the beach club, and the fare will be free to residents and hotel guests, the costs of which are included in the monthly maintenance. Beach club memberships are a one time fee and will be due once the club is ready. Club memberships are the following: 3 bedroom units: $18,000 2 bedroom units: $14,000 1 bedroom unts: $10,000 Condo hotel: $15,000.

Rental demand is still strong in the City as multinationals continue to relocate from countries like Venezuela, Canada, and Mexico. Passage of the FTA with the US will have a long term positive impact as well.

Hotel Occupancy year round is still averaging 70% plus in Panama City

Here’s what we don’t know: Sustainability of the Trump nightly rate. Published nightly rates range between $280 – $315/night, but that’s the rack rate and does not include any discounts. For the short term, I think they’ll have no problem keeping the hotel booked at around $275.00 for the next 12-16 months. They will see increased competition from large operators like Hilton and Hard Rock, both of whom will have fully operating hotels in 2012 and rates may come down a bit.

The Trump Organization has yet to release their full list of management fees. We know the HOA (CAM charges) will be $4.08/meter on the residential side, but we haven’t seen anything for hotel unit owners.

Trump still does not have a casino operator, so don’t expect the Casino to be up and running until the 4th quarter of this year at the very earliest

We are being told the beach club is going to be ready by December, so plan on January/February of 2012. Good news is, it doesn’t take very long to build what they have planned out there

What percentage of the units will come back on the market? So far, only 39 units have actually defaulted. The rest of the units have been snatched up by investors. The building is over 90% sold out as of June 1st 2011, but I tend to believe that the developer is sitting on as many as 100 additional units that they have not released yet. Typically, buildings start to be sold prior to the commencement of construction, which is called “off plan” or “pre-construction” sales here in Panama. As the project approaches completion, the prices go up or down depending on the market conditions. In the case of Trump, which was sold pre-boom, prices have steadily increased. What has happened in Trump Ocean Club and what happens in every single project in Panama is the following: prices in the building always experience a temporary dip just before the building is delivered from sellers who cannot close. Six months after delivery, word gets out about the building and prices either climb steeply (as was the case with rentals and resales in the Ocean Sky building), or prices drop because of poor quality and too many sellers.

I have personally toured the Trump project as recently as last week and can tell you that ZERO quality concerns are going to bring this building’s values down. They have put in some of the best material money can by, and the finish-quality of the work exceeds the best buildings in Panama.

My Predictions: I think we will continue to see fantastic deals over the next six to eight weeks as the final round of sellers unload and defaults are flushed out of the system. By the end of the year, I I expect resale values to stabilize right around $3,500 per square meter. I also think the hotel will have a banner year this first year, as Trump has very little competition. By nature, the hotel product does not normally experience aggressive appreciation, HOWEVER, I think that a new round of investors will enter the market once current owners can provide 6+ months of solid financial data. Anything hotel rooms purchased for less than $250,000 will show positive ROI and be very easy to resell.

I expect rental absorption to be slow at first, as new tenants are hesitant to move into a building who’s amenity list is only partially complete. However, by January 2012 I expect Trump to lead the rental market in Punta Pacifica, with furnished per square meter rental rates coming in at right around $25/m.

All the Best, Kent Davis, Skype: kentpd22, kent@panamaequity.com, http://www.panamaequity.comm Panama Office: 392-2971 Direct Dial Panama: 011-507 6030-6782 USA: 404-865-1629

There is another fact that also worries officials. These are the abandoned buildings in critical condition, occupied by 564 people. In the report from the Ministry of Housing there are seven properties in San Felipe, four in El Chorrillo, three in Santa Ana, and two in Calidonia. These properties have been occupied by squatters, but their owners do not appear. "If a balcony collapses and there is an order, then we will evict the residents," said Director of Social Development of the Ministry of Housing, Edwin Bethancourt. From June 2009 to date 16 properties have been demolished in the districts of El Chorrillo, Calidonia, San Felipe, and Santa Ana. This has diminished somewhat the numbers of families who are living in high risk situations. A report by the agency revealed that once they manage to evict the people who are living in these buildings that are in critical condition, they will proceed with the demolition. (Panama America)

Once again, the house formerly owned by the ex-strongman of Panama, Manuel Antonio Noriega, located on 72nd Street in the Altos del Golf neighborhood of San Francisco, failed to be sold at auction. The public event held by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) ended yesterday for the second time without bidders interested in acquiring the property, valued in 2007 at $2.5 million dollars. "The Public Procurement Act allows us to make three calls, so we will be organizing another one," said Frank De Lima, Vice Minister of Economy. He announced that if the third planned attempt to sell the property is also unsuccessful then the government will accept direct proposals which are the most attractive for the State. According to Julio Berrio, one of Noriega's lawyers, no one has wanted to participate in the auctions because no one wants to buy a problem. "That house was confiscated illegally by the state," said Berrio, clarifying that Noriega bought it with a loan from the Social Security Fund (CSS). The lawyer said if Noriega's house gets a new owner, he would legally intervene. The house, which sits on a plot of land measuring 3,245 square meter and which was purchased by Noriega for $68,000 dollars, was first put up for auction on 11 April 2011. (El Siglo)

About 36 people were evicted yesterday from Urban Renewal buildings, in an area known as Baghdad, No.17, 18, 19 and 20, located in El Chorrillo. Officials of the Banco Hipotecario Nacional (BHN) evicted the intruders and debtors who owed a total of ​​about $416,401 dollars, because they had not made a payment since 1989. The evictions took place in these four buildings with 48 apartments, which had been refurbished. The monthly payments for these apartments range from $57 to $78 dollars. The action started in the early hours of the morning and had the support of the sector Justice of the Peace and the National Police. Those who were evicted were handed citations. Some filed paperwork to make payment arrangements. The manager of the BHN, Rafael Guard, reminded the tenants that they will continue with legal actions to recover the debt. Faced with persistent non-payment, they are starting the evictions to recover such dwellings, and he suggested that those who owe money should go to the offices of the BHN to avoid difficult situations, he added. During the operation they visited 52 apartments, some of which were unoccupied. In total the institution is owed more than $32 million dollars in late payments. (El Siglo)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - First of all, you should know by now that I'll either find or invent any possible reason to stick a photo of a sexy girl in a bikini into any article published on this website. I would like to state for the record that this sexy bikini model is (probably not) a real estate agent selling beach front property in Panama, but wouldn't it be nice if she was. Anyway - with that out of the way - I've had a Yahoo! email group called Panama Real Estate for more than seven years now. To be honest, I've neglected this net somewhat in the past because it gets literally hammered with spam, mostly from automated bots in India or China, trying to sign up and post email advertising real estate for sale in Dubai or what have you. I've had to crank down the moderation settings to max, approve each and every new member, and keep new members on moderated status for longer than normal to keep the spam to a minimum. Lately I've been spending some time to clear out the riff-raff and to make the net useful again.

What It's For: Basically the Panama Real Estate Yahoo! email group is a free bulletin board for people to buy, sell, advertise, and search for real estate in the Republic of Panama. This net is wide open for all real estate agents and sellers, and buyers can ask questions, get contact information, or what have you.

What It's Not: This board is not for discussion about news, politics, life and living in Panama in general or other topics of discussion not related to the buying and selling of Real Estate in Panama - that's what the Americans in Panama email group is for. This net is also not to be used to advertise real estate that's not in Panama (Ecuador, Dubai, or somewhere else.) Panama real estate, only.

With That Having Been Said: Fire away. I'm going to be promoting this network regularly and routinely on Panama Guide, so everyone - buyers and seller - can start taking advantage of what's there. Good luck, and happy posting. And if the chick in the yellow bikini wants to sell you something, buy it, whatever it is. You'll be glad that you did.

Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

A growing number of older Britons are planning to relocate abroad by 2012, new research from the Centre for Future Studies has revealed. The organisation notes that as well as the traditional overseas destinations favoured by emigrating Brits, a number of more leftfield locations are now cropping up. Indeed, the Daily Telegraph also recently highlighted the increase in the number of Brits buying property in Panama. The Central American country's relaxed banking laws, excellent climate and picturesque coastline have proved irresistible for a number of Brits, the news provider explained. It added: "The majority settle along the Pacific Coast near the capital, Panama City, in Coronado, Punta Chame, Gorgona and Rio Mar, where new-build apartments with sea views are as little as £80,000. "The exclusive Punta Pacifica district has architect-designed condos with concierge services. Two-bed new-build units sell for £225,000." In addition, property buyers will benefit from the fact that the country has generous tax legislation, no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax. (propertyshowrooms.com)

Editor's Comment: "No capital gains tax?" Wrong. If you sell property and realize a capital gain you will pay a 10% tax on your earnings. For example, if you buy an apartment for $150,000 dollars five years ago, and sell it today for $200,000 then your capital gain is $50,000 so before the deal can be completed you have to pay $5,000 in capital gains tax. People play all kinds of games when doing real estate transactions, trying to avoid these taxes, however they do exist so the statement of "no capital gains tax" in this article is simply incorrect. Heads up.

Get the exclusive dirt on Panama's fastest moving regions for surf real estate! The New York Times recently exposed one of the global real estate industry's fastest growing trends: surf real estate. This expose reveals opportunities near famous surf breaks along with Panama specific tips on how to see the biggest ROI. Investments like Pedasi's Playa Venao Heights require...

For our readers in places like Santa Barbra or Nags Head, this will come as no surprise: Surf real estate is big business and will continue to be as long as pristine, unexploited surf spots can still be found along the world’s beaches. The secret will be out soon on Playa Venao, as the Billabong world championship of surfing moves into town in the coming months. With the international exposure that the competition brings, we expect this to be one of the next hottest spots in residential real estate in Panama.

Only four years ago, the secret breaks on the beach were known only to local surfers and the occasional out of towner. The success story of this little beach area is undeniable and long overdue. Playa Venao is nestled into one of the most pristine bays on Panama’s Pacific coast, about an hours drive along paved roads south of Pedasi. Over the last several years, small but active development groups have been slowly building up the area which can barely be called a town just yet. In one area, over four million dollars has been invested in the Brisas Venao Hotel, a 55 room tourist project that will bring some much needed infrastructure to the area. Another project following on the heels of development is Playa Venao Heights, a low density neighborhood in the hills overlooking the break at Playa Venao. Owners in Venao Heights include world class surfer and local celebrity Gary Saavedra, one of the first to buy.

For comparables, just look up the road at projects now selling for upwards of $400,000 for house+lot. This is a stark contrast to similar properties in Venao where one can still pick up a full serviced lot with amazing views for less than $75,000. Look no further than neighboring Costa Rica, where real estate prices along the beach have skyrocketed to accommodate for hoards of baby boomers in search of second homes. Prices are down in Costa Rica, but they’ve barely started to inch up in Venao!

Interested in other opportunities in the area? As a direct result of Playa Venao’s progress, we now have an office in Pedasi! Use our agents to snag the best deals with the best views in, hands down, Panama’s fastest and most positive developing beach town. For more information contact Kent Davis, Skype: kentpd22, kent@panamaequity.com, http://www.panamaequity.com, Panama Office: 392-2971, Direct Dial Panama: 011-507 6030-6782, USA: 404-865-1629

Moncada reiterates that the PH Plaza Independencia is suspended - Judge Alejandro Moncada wrote to the National Heritage Director, Sandra Cerrud, to ask why they resumed work on the PH Plaza Independencia. The works have been suspended by order of the Chamber of the Court, since September 2009. (La Prensa)

On Wednesday the old US Embassy on Balboa Avenue was totally demolished, leaving only rubble in its place. On this site the new "Torre Financiera" will be constructed which will provide office spaces to both government entities and private businesses, although the plan has generated protests from a group of people, who instead call for the construction of a cultural museum. This demolition began on Thursday 14 April, despite the voices of artists and others who opposed it. (TVN Noticias)