Panama has a booming economy and Panama City is becoming headquarters for more international companies every week. With HP, Proctor & Gamble, Caterpillar, and many others moving corporate head quarters to Panama the demand for corporate housing is high. Panama is a business city with a diverse economic base and is the business hub of Central and South America. Corporate housing demand is high and will be increasing dramatically over the next decade in Panama City.

The full service short term rental market and full service management are new to Panama. More competition exists in the long term market, although demand is still very high for well appointment quality apartments suited to the business traveler. The canal, embassy, and a number of other corporations bring business executives down with their families for 1 to 3 year contracts and need to rent apartments long term. Occupancy rates for full service corporate apartments are over 90% and it is best to book two or three months in advance. With the business expansion taking place in Panama I see this trend continuing for the foreseeable future.

The business trend in Panama is up and this increases demand for the full service apartments as well as long term apartments. The increasing cost of acquiring new apartments is also pushing rents up. Rents are still very competitive based on international rates. There are a number of indicators that inflation will increase over time. Owning solid rental real estate is an excellent hedge against inflation because rental rates usually go up with inflation.

Rates for corporate rentals also referred to as full service, or short term rentals, including vacation rentals are currently very reasonable in Panama. A New York one bed corporate apartment costs $5,000 per month and up, and a two bed will run $7,000 or more per month. On the lower end international rates are $2,500 per month for an average full service one bed apartment and $3000 to $4000 for an average two bed apartment in a mid level city. Corporate housing offers much more then a hotel for clients staying for from one week to a few years. Rents are usually all inclusive of utilities, TV, and high speed internet in fully furnished apartments. Clients arrive and can be ready to start working or living with out the time lost to establishing a place to live. In Panama rental rates run from $2,000 to $3,000 per month for a one bed apartment located in the prime down town water front area, and a two bed apartment can be rented for only $2,600 to $3,600. Panama is still at the early stages of its growth and prime apartments are readily available for under $3000 per square meter ($300 per foot) for prime ocean front downtown apartments.
Key factors to investing and owning corporate apartments are location, management, and amenities.

To achieve corporate rates, apartments must be well located, which is in line with the best general practices in real estate investing; always purchase the best location you can afford. The highest demand locations, particularly for full service corporate rentals are the busy downtown financial district and along the water front. Panama is the business center of Central America and most corporate executives prefer to live in an area where they can easily walk or take a very short taxi ride to their destination. There are also some appealing areas such as El Congrejo, San Francisco, Punta Pitilla within 15 or 20 minutes of down town and have most services close by for shopping and dining. These areas are quieter than the center of the city, but do require a car and driving in the city. With high-rise living you can get out of the main hustle and bustle of the city with just an elevator ride. Another area growing rapidly is Costa Del Este. There are new office spaces and high-rise apartments under construction in this new area.

Corporate apartments must be fully furnished with quality functional furniture. Design follows function. Bedrooms must be large enough to fit a king bed comfortably. Outfitting a one bed apartment for the corporate world is best done by someone that understands the corporate world rather then an interior designer. On average furnishing a one bed apartment including lights and AC units will cost under $20,000.

A quality management company that can handle the needs of corporate clients is a must for any investor. The investor requires a full service management company such as Panama Casa Services that can effectively manage the owner's investments providing services such as

• Marketing and showing the property
• Select qualified individual(s) and prepare a rental contract
• Bill payment services for all utilities bills, building fees, cleaning fees
• Tax service for the Panama Tax system,
• Setting up services and utilities for the owner
• Furnishing and installations of AC, appliances, and lighting fixtures
• Providing check in and check out inspections
• Providing for cleaning services

As well as services for the clients such airport pickup, directions, maintenance issues, and other services that may be required by the corporate cliental. Full service property management has an enormous number of details that have to be taken care of on a daily basis, and a professional management company is an absolute must.
Full service property management fees run 20% to 25% of the gross rent collected plus a minimum monthly fee and start up costs for establishing all of the utilities. Full service long term rental programs should also be available to maximize the investment potential of the investment. On long term rental management there is usually a finders fee of the first months rent and a 7% to 10% administration fee there after.

Indications are that Panama will continue to grow rapidly into the future. Panama City has established itself as the business hub of Latin America, which overall is having some of the best economic growth in the world. Panama has convenient sea, air, and road access. The political environment here is stable and the government promotes and accommodates growth. They are addressing the infrastructure issues and moving forward on solutions to issues from this rapid growth. Panama is a neutral country and without a military. Tax revenues provide services and building infrastructure for the country. Incomes from the canal and tax revenue provide government more services with a lower tax structure than competing countries. There are more mega projects happening in Panama then any place else in the world at almost anytime in history. The Canal Expansion at almost 6 billion and two oil refineries at about 6 billion each. Howard air force base is developing into what will be the largest industrial park in the world. Multinational companies are moving in to take advantage of the growing Latin American markets. Sea World is building a multi-million dollar tourist project. In addition, a number of resorts are under construction. These developments combined with baby boomer purchasing second homes in the sun or retiring in Panama's warm climate gives Panama a broad economic base to support its future growth. The economic health and growth of Panama and the Central American region will lead to high demand for all services catering to business growth including corporate and short term housing needs. Investment in high quality well located, well appointed, and properly managed apartments will remain an excellent investment in Panama for the foreseeable future.
In this thriving market Panama Casa Services is the leader in providing top quality property management to its growing numbers of clients world wide and continues to raise the bar in their standard of service.

Written by Jeff Duda of https://www.panamacasa.com
Jeff has over 25 years experience with investment p