Financial models, tax principles, legal frameworks and zone guides — written for people who read numbers.
New · Brax Chart of the Week →Brax Research · Owning
Insurers’ association: the insured sum should match the cost to rebuild, and a 2% earthquake deductible is common. Five checks for your policy.
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Brax Research · Neighborhoods
Two Metro lines, a bus interchange, shops and sports: what we could verify about the area and who says it. Why we cannot yet state a saving per m².
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Brax Research · Compliance
A 350% rise on a base of nine reports. What the UAF figures say, what they do not, and the proof of funds a buyer should expect.
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Brax Research · Financing
What Banco General publishes for foreign applicants, and what broker guides claim without a source.
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Brax Research · Buying process
The registry’s own manual says the notary or anyone with an interest can request registration. What it says, and what it leaves open.
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Brax Research · Buying process
The tax authority has the seller file the 2% transfer tax. The buyer’s costs are custom, and published estimates range from 2% to 5% of the price.
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Brax Research · Visas
Decree 17 has applied since 16 September: $300,000 new, $500,000 resale. The 15 October date was not in it. The six-month window that does matter.
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Brax Research · Buying guide
Six checks before any deposit, built on the Public Ministry’s 2026 fraud figures and the Registro Público and DGI instructions, with what we could not confirm.
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Brax Research · Economy
IMF staff and the World Bank raised their 2026 growth forecasts, yet bank mortgage balances and foreign investment have not followed. What that means for a buyer.
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Brax Research · Prices
New builds in Bella Vista, Costa del Este and San Francisco are priced 1.4× to 2.7× what resale closes at per square metre. What the gap can and cannot mean.
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Brax Research · Market
The +38% home-sales headline describes $40,000–$60,000 social housing. City new builds average about $317,000. Two markets, two sets of numbers.
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Brax Research · Earthquake
Most damage from the 9 October quake is rural, but engineers ask every building to be inspected. Five questions to put in writing before you pay.
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Brax Research · Visa & capital
Panama issued 268 investor-visa certificates in a year, but the average ticket fell about 9% while foreign direct investment dropped 63%. What each number measures.
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Brax Research · Yield
A 9.4% gross yield in El Cangrejo becomes about 7.6% at signed rents and 7.0% with one empty month. A worked walk for six towers.
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Brax Research · Financing
The appraisal sets how much a Panama bank lends and costs about $1.25 per $1,000. What the rule says and five questions to ask before paying.
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Brax Research · Regulation
The EU moved Panama from the blacklist to the grey list on Oct 9. Buyers in their own name see no change; EU residents with entities should ask. What is still pending.
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Brax Research · Investor thinking
An average Airbnb grosses about $11,800 a year in Panama City and $11,200 in Boquete; Playa Venao earns 2x. The fee, the fog and the life you are really buying.
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Brax Research · Credit & Demand
New home loans fell 13% to $981M in Jan–Aug, the lowest since 2020, while personal loans hit a record. Three readings that disagree, and what to check.
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Brax Research · Market Structure
Punta Pacifica Realty is now Panama Sotheby’s International Realty. What the brand adds for sellers, what it leaves untouched for buyers, and five questions for any broker.
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Brax Research · Buyer Protection
52% of 2026 complaints against Panama real estate firms ask for money back — but the costly fights are over defects and clauses. A 7-point presale checklist.
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Brax Research · Rental Yield
Signed rents run ~19% below listings. Rerun Panama City yields on closed rents and registry prices: ~6.5% in Costa del Este, ~7.2% in El Cangrejo.
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Tool Guide · STR Yield
Six inputs, four outputs, and the two mistakes that make a projection look better than it actually is — explained field by field.
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Market Data · Rental Cycle
Developer inventory just hit a 9-year low and rents jumped double digits — but it's not the blanket luxury boom the headlines suggest. Here's the segment where it's really happening.
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Immigration · Legal Fine Print
Everyone covered $300K vs $500K. Almost nobody covered the 3-year cap on residency status held only by a purchase agreement — or the new bank-backed protection that comes with it.
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Market Trend · 2026
Santa María reportedly sold $70M / 110 condos in one month. We break down both corridors — and the five new projects we’re now tracking across them.
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Country Advisory · Investment Thesis
Decree 17's visa split, the tourism record, and the rental data, synthesized into what "turnkey" has to mean before it means anything.
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Legal & Fiscal · 2026
Published September 16, it replaces the framework behind the Qualified Investor Visa. The $300,000 threshold survives for new, first-sale property; resale now needs $500,000.
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Legal & Fiscal · 2026
Bill 31-26 replaces Law 80's expired tax-credit regime with income and property tax exemptions through 2036 — up to 15 years in the Caribbean, 10 elsewhere outside the capital.
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Market News · 2026
Charter flights start October 5, serving Playa Blanca, Farallón and Buenaventura. What new air access does to Pacific coast STR demand — and where it doesn't.
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Neighborhood Watch · 2026
Salvaje and ACHA's arrival joins an already growing dining scene. What it signals for residential demand and rental appeal in the neighborhood.
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Market News · 2026
Record H1 2026: 1.75M visitors (+17.4% YoY), hotel occupancy at 67.6%, $159M economic impact. What it means for hospitality and STR investors.
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Market News · 2026
Asking rents hit $14.70/m², houses up 13.2%, inventory at multi-year lows, and a 92-96% sale-to-asking ratio. What it means for buy-to-rent vs. buy-to-flip.
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Lifestyle · Dining
Mestizo on a Thursday vs. a Tuesday client lunch by the airport. What each neighborhood's dining scene tells you about how you'd actually live there.
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Owner & Buyer Economics
Law 546, sanctioned August 31, 2026, zeroes out the transfer tax on new homes up to $120K, with a sliding scale to $200K. Who it's actually built for.
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Land · Market Data
Permit value up 43.5% nationally through April 2026, with Arraiján up 351.9%. Still 44.1% below the 2023 peak. Where the recovery is concentrated, and why.
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Lifestyle · Hospitality Trends
A 22,000-square-foot spa in El Valle de Antón, new villas on a private island in Chiriquí. What the investment signals about lifestyle demand.
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Short-Term Rentals · Market Data
1.76M visitors in H1 2026 (+22% YoY), hotel occupancy up 13.8 points in two years. What the demand surge supports — and where hotel data and STR data diverge.
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Infrastructure · Panama Oeste
40% complete, connecting Albrook to Arraiján's Ciudad del Futuro — the same corridor Metro Line 3 already reaches by rail. What's confirmed, and what's still too early to claim.
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Monthly Recap · Issue 1
4.9% growth, a construction rebound, a new 2% ITBI transfer-tax exemption, 10.4% unemployment — and what it signals for September.
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Country Advisory · Wealth Structuring
Updated with the September 2 regulations. The one-question test that decides if Law 526 touches your structure — and three assumptions about Panama (Nestlé, the ZLC, offshore privacy) it debunks along the way.
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Lands · Price Signals
Land runs from roughly $200/m² on the city's edge to over $2,500/m² in Punta Pacífica. What that dispersion actually maps, and how to read it before you buy.
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Owner · Direct Sales & JV
Resale listings fell 30-59% year over year in several close-in neighborhoods, while the segment above $800K still carries a year-plus backlog. Three ways to bring an owned asset to market.
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Founders · Market Timing
New-construction sales hit $196.7M in May 2026, up 27.8% year over year, as inventory fell 11%. Where a pre-construction price actually moves through a project's timeline.
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Short-Term Rentals · Regulatory Watch
A bill would formalize ~13,000 unlicensed short-stay rentals — and Bill 31-26 now writes a confirmed 15% ITBMS on bookings into law, versus 10% for hotels. What both mean for licensed STR investors.
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Country Advisory · Wealth Mobility
Henley & Partners scored Panama 71.5 in its 2026 Global Wealth Mobility Framework. What that score actually measures.
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Country Advisory · Structuring
Panama's single-family offices average roughly $1 billion in AUM each. The Private Interest Foundation structure behind them, explained.
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Lands · Growth Corridors
Infrastructure investment precedes value appreciation. Why these central provinces are drawing land investors early.
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Lifestyle · Dining
Ten kitchens defining the city's fine-dining scene right now — from tasting menus to the tables regulars actually book.
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Lands · Legal
The same listing photo, three very different assets. What you're actually buying on the Panama coast — and why it matters.
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Founders · Pre-Construction
The discount trades for early, staged capital before a project has proof points. The payment structure and diligence that matter.
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Immigration · Deadline
Decree 17 resolved the $300K threshold question early, on September 16 — and it wasn't the flat doubling everyone was bracing for.
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Process · Legal
Registry due diligence, a notary who protects the deal — not you — and why most coordination happens over WhatsApp.
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Structuring · Legal
One runs the asset. One passes it on without probate. Most buyers only need to choose correctly once.
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Luxury · Branded Residences
Global branded-residence supply is heading toward 900+ projects. Panama just joined — before the premium was priced in.
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Lands · How It Works
The ANATI/MIVIOT approval chain, the two types of segregation, and why this is Panama's highest-upside, highest-risk asset.
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Tax & Benefits
The Pensionado discount schedule, import duty exemptions, and the property tax thresholds most guides skip.
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Market News · 2026
Inventory at nine-year lows, rents up 18 months straight, and a residency deadline in October. The market shifted.
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Infrastructure
A 5-10% premium near stations already, 10-20% projected. The most important thing in Panama real estate isn’t a tower.
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Investment · Yield
How a brochure’s 12% becomes 6% in your account — and the one question that protects every investor.
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Lifestyle
Volcán Barú, the surf coast, and the folklore towns — three lifestyles, three assets, one small country.
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Market · Luxury
Two kinds of luxury fifteen minutes apart. Restaurants, lifestyle, and which neighbourhood fits which buyer.
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Market · Casco Viejo
It overtook the Canal as Panama’s most-visited attraction. Fixed supply, UNESCO heritage, $34k/year licensed STR.
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STR Analysis
Gross vs net, real costs, scenario ranges — the full model for a licensed city STR unit.
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Tax
Zero tax on foreign income: how it works, what it requires, where the limits are.
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Lifestyle
Climate, community, healthcare, costs — the full picture for the mountain market.
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Immigration
Requirements, benefits, and when it pays to hold both.
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Market
Three prime zones, three investment models — which fits yours.
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STR · Legal
Law 80, ATP permits, the countryside exception, and the professional setup.
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Legal · Fiscal
A 45-day permit rule that's fully active, and a tax-incentive registration window that closed Dec 31, 2025. The accurate picture.
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Neighbourhoods
Maito, La Tapa del Coco, and a daily local demand Casco Viejo can't match. Why the scene matters for buyers too.
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Lifestyle
700 acres, a Jack Nicklaus course, and a boulevard that keeps its volume down on purpose.
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