Terms like "overbuilt," "condo craze," and "speculation," seem to belong in a real estate era of the past -- around 2005. But in Panama City it's still the state of the market where it's estimated that up to 80 percent of the pre-construction purchases of condominiums is by investors and speculators.

NuwireInvestor.com, a media outlet on alternative investment opportunities, reports that one of the reasons Panama City has seemingly insulated itself from a condo bust is the flow of money coming into the area -- from foreign investors.

"Panama City's strong local economy and low-cost quality of living," Nuwire reports, "will likely drive positive long-term growth, and the market still offers significant, but different, opportunities for investment."

"Europeans ... with their strong currency, have stepped in where U.S. investors could not," Matt Landau tells Nuwire. Landau is founder and CEO of The Panama Report and a real estate consultant based in Panama City.

Not everyone believes the coastal town is overbuilt. Jeff Duda of Panama Casa, a property management company, points out that "the quantity of units for sale relative to the actual population of the city -- which numbers around one million people -- is small."

In addition, Duda says the demographic being targeted for condo purchases -- international baby boomers -- are expected to flock to cities such as Panama in the next several years.

Published: July 9, 2008

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Mr. Carr has covered real estate since 1989. He is the author of Real Estate Investing Made Simple. Got a personal real estate issue? Post your questions and comments at Anthony’s blog: commonsenserealestate.blogspot.com.