This magnificent mountain home in Altos de Maria offers plenty of space to stretch out and enjoy the amazing views, cooler temperatures, and lower humidity.

This house comes with an infinity pool as well a built in BBQ grill.

Each of the three bedrooms have their own air conditioner (split). There four full baths and one half bath.

The house is a total of 347 square meters (3,735 square feet), and there is also a small guest house.

The size of the lot is 5,764 square meters (62,043 square feet or 1.42 acres). This house was actually built on three adjoining lots in the Altos de Maria development.

This house is relatively new - built in 2009.

For more information about this property contact don@panama-guide.com or via cell phone at 6614-0451. See below for images of this beautiful mountain home in Altos de Maria. (more)

Here's a lovely home for sale located in Soralpina, near the town of Sora in the mountains above Panama's Pacific coast.

Enjoy fresh mountain breezes with outstanding views of the Pacific Coast, as well as the surrounding mountains and valleys.

This house is located only 30 minutes away from the Pacific beaches, and 75 minutes away from all of the services and shopping offered in Panama City.

There are local amenities such as small stores, a church, restaurants and a supermarket located in the nearby town of Sora.

The house has a construction size of 225 square meters (2,421 square feet).

The house sits on a lot measuring 2,832 square meters (30,483 square feet or 0.7 acres) of beautifully and colorfully landscaped, gently sloping grounds, with a brook running along the property line.

The house has a total of four bedrooms and four bathrooms.

The house has a built in BBQ grill, three storage areas, handcrafted wooden doors and windows.

This house is only 11 years old.

For more information about this property contact don@panama-guide.com or via cell phone at 6614-0451. There are lots of images of this property below. (more)

The highest property in the whole metropolitan area of Panama City, at over 350 meters (1,149 feet) above sea level.

This house is located in the neighborhood of Las Cumbres, with clean fresh air, far enough away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Panama City to enjoy complete silence, and a beautiful view of mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

This is a large house, with a total construction area of 820 square meters (8,826 square feet), built on a large lot measuring 12,329 square meters (132,708 square feet - three acres).

It has three floors, five bedrooms, and a total of four complete bathrooms. There is also a garage with space for three vehicles.

For more information about this property contact don@panama-guide.com or via cell phone at 6614-0451. There are lots of images of this property below. (more)

A beautiful 278.71m2 fully furnished home located inside the Gated Community of Brisas de los Lagos with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2 car carport, storage area, open kitchen, laundry area, dining room, living room and a terrace.

The Brisas de los Lagos Gated Community is surrounded by small forests and the temperature in the community is always 10 to 15 degrees cooler than in Panama city.

Brisas de los Lagos is located only 40 minutes west of Panama city and 45 minutes away from the beaches of Panama.

Whole house water purification system with pressure tank and water softener.

There are five air conditioners throughout the house and ceiling fans in all rooms with remote controls for settings.

Also includes: Fridge, stove, dishwater, above range microwave, washer, dryer and large upright freezer.

This property still has 17 Years left of tax exoneration

See the rest of the article below for photos. For more information about this property contact don@panama-guide.com or via cell phone at 6614-0451.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Here's a really nice home in La Chorrera featuring views of the Pacific Ocean. Three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, 176 m2 (1,894 square feet) on a 510 m2 lot. Priced to sell quickly at $145,000.

A beautiful home located 1/2 mile from the Arraijan - La Chorrera highway.

Located just 20 minutes from Panama city and 45 minutes from Coronado.

The home was built by an American engineer in 1981.

It has cathedral ceilings, covered car port, 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms - one of which has been adapted for handicapped facility in master bedroom.

There is a workshop on the back of the property - excellent for the "do it yourself" kind of guy.

The house has a security alarm, three porches, a lovely back yard, and laundry area.

The wood cabinets in the kitchen are all mahogany. There's an outdoor BBQ oven, steel security doors, a 10' high outer perimeter security wall with a vehicle entry gate that's opened with a remote control.

There are water tanks with 1,000 gallons water reserves and an underground system to irrigate the gardens. Outside there is a steel trash receptacle bin with lid.

This home offers view of ships entering the Bay of Panama, and a view of the Taboga and Otoque Islands.

For more information please contact me at don@panama-guide.com or cell 6614-0451. See photos of this property below. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - For sale - 3,500 square meter lot in Pedasi. This land is located about 1 kilometer from the ocean and just minutes from some of the best swimming and fishing beaches on Panama's Pacific coast. Priced to sell. $105,000 negotiable.

This lot is part of Phase One of the Hacienda Los Gavilanes development. The development's entrance is located just 3.1 miles (5 kilometers) from the town of Pedasi so it's close to shopping, grocery stores, and services.

The land has a view of the Pacific ocean and Isla Iguana.

Please click on this link for more information about this 3,500 square meter ocean view lot in Pedasi.

Copyright 2013 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Do you have a property you would like to sell in Panama? Now you can get it listed and promoted on this website, and I will help promote it for you. This is how it works.

I am now collaborating with a couple of the larger real estate companies who have been in the business for years here in Panama, who specialize mostly in buyers from the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries in Latin America. If you give your property to me I will then list your property on those systems, and promote it on this website. A licensed real estate agent will be assigned to the property. The assigned agent will be the one who will show it to potential buyers, get the keys, do the paperwork, etc.

Important Disclaimer - I am not a licensed real estate agent in Panama. However your property will be handled by recognized companies with licensed brokers when the sale goes through. What I bring to the table is viewers. Eyeballs. Website visitors. Traffic. When the property sells I get a percentage of the commission. My job is to bring in the listings, and present those listings to potential buyers - all through promotion and advertising. And I only work with people who I have known for years, and trust.

Anyway, that's the deal. If you have a property for sale in Panama, and if you would like to see your property promoted on this website, then please contact me directly via email - don@panama-guide.com. Let's get busy...

Copyright 2013 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Don't forget to follow Panama Guide on Twitter. Salud.

Construction progress on the new UN Regional Hub in Clayton Panama is now fully underway, with two crews working around-the-clock shifts on the project, due for completion in 2015. Panama residents, especially those who live in the Clayton neighborhood can remember what happened back in 2006 when the United States announced their new Clayton Embassy location. We all watched prices on land double in Clayton almost overnight, along with five residential projects starting construction at the same time. Most of those new projects have been completed, along with three internationally credited schools.

All eyes are on Clayton at this moment and in particular the construction site that will house over 700 full time UN workers spread across 17 organizations including UNICEF, the World Food Program, the UN International strategy for disaster response, and the World Health Organization, among others. The project, or “hub” as it is being called, will consist of 17,500m² of office space and common services, such as an auditorium, cafeteria, restaurant, day care facility, library, gym, travel agency and bank.

UNOPS Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean, Maria Noel Vaeza, thanked the government of Panama for their support and said: “As a green building on a green site, the UN Regional Hub in Panama is the first of its kind in the world. It offers a unique opportunity for the UN to raise the bar and set an example both within and outside of the UN, achieving a major step in UN system coherence and effectiveness.”

Sustainable construction - The new hub aims to lead the way in terms of carbon neutrality, sustainability and increased UN integration and effectiveness. It is designed to be a unique model of good practices in the implementation of sustainable construction in the Latin-American region and at a global level. It is CO2 neutral, energy positive and water self-sufficient.

The construction is expected to cost $38 million and will be funded by the government of Panama. Pricing on homes for sale in Clayton Panama are expected to see a jump once the hub nears completion and workers look to relocate.

Interested in real estate in the Clayton area that may benefit from this all of this new construction? This home for sale in Clayton is literally the closest available property to the new HUB and was just listed by Panama Equity in February.

The local residents in Pedasi, in the province of Los Santos, are worried that at any minute they might lose their right to go to the beach, because big corporations are fencing off areas they have always used for public recreation.

The locals complained that a consortium has closed off the access road they have always used to get to the shore at Playa La Garita.

Land in Pedasi, in the province of Los Santos, costs millions of dollars thanks to the potential for tourism, and the construction of fences in beach areas is making people upset.

Not only the local Panamanian residents, but also among the community of foreigners who have purchased property in the area.

The unrest comes after a multi million dollar consortium fenced off an area that was for public enjoyment, and they also took part of the parcel of land owned by another foreigner.

The American Thomas Gibbs, who has been residing in Pedasi for year and who claims to have title over the land, reported he has lost some of his land due to the construction of a fence.

It is unknown who authorized the international consortium to build a fence on the beach.

So far, it has not been possible to obtain a statement from the mayor of Pedasi about the complaint. (TVN)

Editor's Comment: One sided story. So, which is it. Is the "international consortium" fencing off an area that has always been used for public enjoyment? Or are they fencing off a road that the locals have always used to get to the beach? Or, are they stealing land from a gringo? It's not only difficult to make a call on these kinds of situations without first having seen the actual plans, it actually takes a technically competent investigation to go back and reconstruct the plans and paperwork to see how we got from "there" (historical situation) to "here" (current situation). I learned during the Chame investigation that just because someone holds title over a parcel of land does not mean they should have title. The ANATI in Panama is hopelessly corrupt - witness the cases in Paitilla, Juan Hombron, Chame, Bocas del Toro, and others - and they will sign paperwork and hand out land titles to anyone for the right price. It's also perfectly possible that the "international consortium" made a fully legal purchase, went through all the right steps, did nothing wrong, and all they are doing is changing the status quo. The local residents used to be able to access the beach that way, but in fact now it's private property and the new owners might be fully within their rights to fence it off (and of course the locals won't like that, but it might not be illegal.) With respect to the stealing of land from Thomas Gibbs, again, I have no idea who's right there. The conflict will make it's way through the courts and one thing is certain - he who pays the most bribes will win. This is Panama. There is no judicial security over land ownership. None.

Panama's economic growth in recent years can be reflected in real estate, where the market for commercial, industrial, and office buildings continues to rise, suggesting there will be a lot of activity in 2013.

During 2012 there was an increase in real estate deals in residential and business properties, after a massive opening of buildings that were under construction, according to members of the Panamanian Association of Brokers and Real Estate (Acobir).

According to figures from the Panama Economy Insight consulting firm, the growth rate in this sector in 2012 was 11%, almost 4 percentage points more than in 2011.

Although Acobir members agree that the market is growing, since the 2008 crisis, the mishandling of information keeps the number of transactions from being even greater, or for them to be executed with total transparency.

Panama's Authority for Consumer Protection and Competition (ACODECO) received 3,055 complaints between May 2006 and January 2013 filed against property developers.

In response to these problems, Acobir recently launched a tool designed to manage and provide greater accuracy in the property sector.

"With the multiple listing system (MLS, for its acronym in English) Acobir has a clear set of rules that facilitates the handling and exchange of information for the benefit of buyers, owners and the housing market in general," explains Nicole Tribaldos , administrative manager of the Tribaldos Real State Corp., an Acobir member.

The tool works through a multiple listing, an exclusive database that is shared among the 276 registered commercial agents representing over 100 real estate companies who are members of Acobir.

By concentrating all market information in one place (www.mlsacobir.com) the offer accurate and current figures of the sector and the real prices of each property.

"With this tool the activity in the sector will increase, because both the seller and the buyer will have access to current and transparent information. This gives greater credibility and certainty to the market," says Frank Morrice Arias, the manager of Semusa Realty.

The Parties will act, during the entire transaction process, under the terms of a previously signed contract to provide benefits for those involved.

Of these 3,055 complaints published by Acodeco in its last report in February 2013, involving a total of $223.5 million, 85 were due to a lack of information ($2.6 million); a line that sits in seventh place out of 20 that are registered in the report.

As a consequence of the strong competition that exists in the business and with the desire to get the commission, some agents may take information without authorization from other partners, and offer the property for sale at a cheaper price as if it were their own, making it more attractive for sale.

This is one of several cases mentioning by Acobir members, who recognize the "prostitution" that exists is in terms of the information used in the market.

Eric Van Hoorde summarizes the tool as the preamble to an era that will work with real and transparent information, and that gives peace of mind and confidence.

The commercial market continues to rise -

"Right now we have a lot of supply in business unites and office buildings," says Aracelli Roy de Jaen, director of the Tribaldos Real Estate Corp.

"The residential inventory has been consumed quickly after the opening of several projects in 2012," she adds.

According to a study conducted by CBRE Richard Ellis, the average rental price per square meter during the second half of 2012 was $40.16 per month for Class A commercial centers.

What's more, the increase moved the average sale price to $3,245.50 per meter for the month.

In this semester, Panama City still has commercial office building projects that are still at the early phases of construction, such as moving earth and the implementation phase.

There is some 25,000 square meters under construction in the banking district, another 86,810 square meters under construction in the Southern part of the city (San Francisco, Marbella, Bella Vista and Avenida Balboa) and an additional 50,539 square meters under construction in the Costa del Este area. These are the primary sub-markets that continue with the most square meters of new space under construction.

In the office market, the average rental price increased slightly from $23.30 to $24.41 per square meter per month, compared to the previous quarter/

The sales price decreased slightly from $2,844 to $2,557 per square meter.

In the residential market, figures from the first half of 2012 show that the average rental price fell to $11.31 per square meter compared with the previous quarter, and the average sales price decreased from $2,590 per square meter to $2,112 per square meter. (Prensa)

Editor's Comment: I will be meeting with Frank Morrice from Semusa on Monday. He's been wanting to tell me about their new MLS initiative. Many people have tried to start an MLS system in Panama in the past and they have all failed for one reason or another. Just looking at this most recent ACOBIR system from the surface, it also seems doomed to fail for a couple of reasons. First of all, most of the real estate agents in Panama are not members of ACOBIR. Their organization is sort of an "old boy's" network, comprised of the small handful of real estate agents who ran the market before the boom started, and they make it hard for new agents to become members. When they do join, there's really not much of an incentive to stay - other than the fact that you can put an "ACOBIR" stamp on your website. The high cost / lack of benefits ratio usually causes most of the real estate agents to eventually depart. In looking at their new MLS which they are trying to launch, they only have about 180 properties listed which is less than one property for every ACOBIR member. The problem with all of these MLS efforts is that under most schemes the sellers are obligated to sign an exclusive contract with just one listing agent which prevents them from listing the property with anyone else. In this "free for all" market, there's a whole lot of downside. Anyone who really wants to sell their property will list their property with anyone and everyone, to increase their chances of finding a buyer who is willing to pay their price. The MLS only works when everyone is playing by the same rules. Hence, it seems to me like this most recent ACOBIR effort will also eventually stall.