From the houses
Sotheby's International Realty expands into Panama
Sotheby's International Realty has added Panama to its network: Punta Pacifica Realty in Panama City now trades as Panama Sotheby's International Realty, the brand's 65th office in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Photo: Yosi Bitran (Unsplash) via Sotheby's International Realty
The desk works in twenty-two markets and Panama is not one of them. The latest news from Sotheby's International Realty still deserves a page, because it shows where prime money is travelling: Punta Pacifica Realty, a firm based in Panama City, has joined the network, and its offices now operate as Panama Sotheby's International Realty.
What changes
The newcomer is the brand's 65th office in the Caribbean and Latin American region. It brings close to two decades in Panama's luxury residential market, a reputation built on representing premier developments and on long client relationships, and a client base across the country's leading residential and resort destinations. The next step, according to Sotheby's International Realty, is a wider presence across Panama and a larger team of affiliated agents.
Why Panama
The case for Panama will sound familiar from the markets this site does cover. International buyers come for a mix of lifestyle, investment opportunity and connectivity, and the market rides several global currents at once: wealth migration, corporate relocation, retirement, second homes and international investment. Panama adds city living, beach communities and mountain retreats in one country, an economy based on the US dollar, sophisticated healthcare and one of the region's leading international airports.
On the supply side the brand points to a new generation of branded residences, waterfront developments and architecturally significant projects, which it credits with lifting the top of the market. Buyers, it says, see the country both as a place to live and as a long-term investment.
The people
The firm is run by Duncan McGowan as chief executive, Jeff Barton as managing partner and Brian Kelly as vice president. McGowan first came to Panama in 1998 and later co-founded Punta Pacifica Realty. Barton moved there in 2007 and led sales at The Ocean Club during what the brand calls a transformative period for the market. Kelly has lived in Panama for more than fifteen years. Ana Patricia Hassan de McGowan, the principal broker, is known for Spotlight to Panama, a platform for people considering the move.
Two projects stand out in the team's record: the sale of the developer's remaining residences at The Ocean Club, and the role of lead brokerage for Ocean Reef Islands, described as Latin America's first man-made residential islands.
We are proud to welcome Panama Sotheby's International Realty to our network.
Philip White, president and CEO, Sotheby's International RealtyHow the desk reads it
For a buyer from Europe the first question about Panama is not the beach but the currency. A dollar economy means that the price, the rent and the eventual sale are all in money other than the money most of our readers earn and spend, which is the same sum that has to be done in Miami and New York. The currency lens shows what a swing of a few per cent does to a purchase over the years of ownership; the budget instrument sets the same figure against the twenty-two markets the desk does cover.
The expansion is also a reminder of how the large networks grow: not by opening offices from nothing but by bringing in a local firm with its own book and its own names. McGowan describes the step as pairing his team's knowledge of the Panamanian market with a global brand, and as a source of new opportunities for clients in Panama and abroad.
Run the numbers
Currency Lens
A house priced in francs, pounds, dollars or dirhams, seen from your own currency, with the swing.
