Real estate market remains in ICU

Panama’s housing market is still in intensive care but showing signs of recovery during the first quarter of the year when sales exceeded the movement registered between October and December of last year, said Diego Vallarino, executive president of Grupo Verde Azul, in an analysis presented to the members of the American Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Panama. (AmCham) on the impact of teleworking on the real estate sector.   According to data from the Panamanian Association of Real Estate Brokers and Promoters. At the end of the first quarter of 2021, the inventory of residential units was reduced by 1,000 homes, although there are still 24,000 homes completed or under construction.

Over 70% of sales were concentrated in the range of $120,000 downwards, but there was also an increase in the placement of homes whose price ranges between  $400,000 and $600,000.

One of the segments that has registered the most demand in recent months is properties on the beach or outside the areas with the highest density.

It was shown that productivity increased with teleworking, a modality that attracted benefits for the employer and worker, such as lower expenses, better use of free time, among others,” he said.

For real estate developer Félix Carles, teleworking allows people to be connected anywhere without affecting their obligations, a benefit that made it easier for people with the necessary purchasing power to choose to acquire a second home in the beach sector.

“Whoever could left the capital city to get rid of the stress of months of confinement,” he said.

But while the inventory of residential properties has decreased in recent months, the available premises in the commercial sector have increased by about 27,000 square meters, a rise of 1.5%, attributed to the closure of companies.

Vallarino said that the real figures for the commercial sector will be known once the country’s health situation normalizes since at that time, companies will decide whether to keep their workers teleworking or return to their offices.