[VIDEO] He Hasn’t Bought in Panama for Over 20+ Years — Until Now 🇵🇦

Ronan McMahon started investing in Panama in 2004. Now, for the first time in years, he’s buying here again, in a tower I can see going up from my balcony in Costa del Este.

I live here with my 3 kids, so I sat down with him to find out why…

Ronan has been a full-time international real estate scout for nearly 23 years and founded Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) in 2008.

He negotiates members-only pricing on 100 condos at a time, before the developer opens a project to the local market. I’ve bought in 2 of his past deals in Costa Rica, and I’m considering this one.

The building

It’s called Ipanema, from Grupo Los Pueblos, the developer behind Ocean Reef Islands in the Bay of Panama. Ronan calls the site the last true waterfront lot of its type. The 3 towers are modeled on the sails of a frigate. Past the 50-meter pool there’s a running track and a white-sand beach (you won’t swim in the bay, but it looks the part), plus sports courts and a 2.5-acre park. Nothing blocks the view across the bay.

The numbers

One example…

RETA members get 2-bedrooms from just under $376K, and Ronan figures that 5 years after delivery they’ll be worth $600K. If he doesn’t use his unit much, he expects strong rental yield.

After the down payment, you pay about 50% of the price over the roughly 2.5-year build. Then you’re pre-approved for developer financing, if you want it.

Why now

He gave me 4 reasons. The one I keep coming back to is volatility. In uncertain times, he says, people and capital flood into Panama, and when things are rosy they still do. He’s also building a portfolio in Paraguay, and Panama gets him direct flights to Asunción and Montevideo.