The Panama Gold Coast

Posted By: Panama Expertos on 14.12.2008
Views: 3291, Published in sections: Panama Real Estate Info :: Panama-Expertos ::

Drive over the bridges and the Panama Canal and then heading along the inter-american highway you will find several very small towns and villages. You are driving to the Panama interior and to the Gold Coast of Panama. In about an hour you reach Malibu and Gorgona Beach and for the next hour you pass several roads that head down to the Beaches ( usually a 10 minute drive ) and to the many new resorts and developments. ( built and planned)

For decades, the only real development was in the Coronado Beach Community, Punto Barco and a few surrounding beaches, primarily as destinations for folks from the city. Several years ago, with the addition of the Decammeron Beach Club and Resort and The Playa Blanca Resort, foreign travelers started coming to Panama.
It started slowly, but from only 2-3 years ago, the whole area is experiencing wide spread growth with new condominium resorts, new golf courses, many new apartment towers in several beach areas, new home developments and more. Many of these are still under construction and several are still in the pre-construction phase, with more being planned, including Hard Rock Hotel, Superclub Breezes, Wyndam Beach.

Panama Gold Coast is a few years behind several others in the region but is building and growing fast. It will never have a development like Cancun, but it does have many fine beaches, a good local community spirit, 20 minutes to the jungle, support services under construction, a good road to the area, and only 1.5 hours from the City and airport.

Single family homes on the water are rare and very expensive in Coronado, Punto Barco and some other less developed beach areas.
Land is available for development but only in large tracts with expensive price tags. Condominiums are being built and developed with prices averaging $2000 per square meter.
Support services are being built along the highway specifically for these new residents, including a large medical clinic, a new shopping market, a DIY home center, small restaurants and more.

Several new developments are planned along the highway as gated communities with approx 100 larger single family homes in each with a large social area. These developments are for those from the city and foreigners. ( locals in the whole area cannot afford any of these new developments, as their average income is only about $300 per month)

There are 3 golf courses in the area and 2 more being developed. All of these have homes, duplexes, condos surrounding the golf.

In Panama all beaches are publicly owned but many of the beaches have limited access via bad trails or minimal roads. So the resorts have developed their own private access directly onto the beach in front.
The beaches have Pacific volcanic type sand which is a little darker in colour and not as smooth as the Caribbean sand. But the beaches are clean, the water is always very warm and the view is spectacular. The beaches vary in width depending on the location and the tides. Small Surfing does take place in sections of Gorgona Beach, sections of Santa Clara, while large surfing is available in several beaches a few hours further away.

The locals still go fishing for shrimp, crabs and fish from their beaches and you can see a few small islands off the shore.

Over the past few years real estate prices have been steadily increasing due to supply, demand and costs. And because buyers are coming from all over the world, the demand is sill there. We do not anticipate a markdown in any prices in new or older homes.