Expat Community > Panama

tunjio
Joined 2011
Posts: 83

central america economy

12 years ago

i remember when real estate collapse and subsequent world banking collapse happened in USA...I was in hawaii,my home still now...I bought my tropical dream land there and started my home and saw values rise quadruple underneath me..then after 2 years every thing collapsed,i bought in early enough to be ok either way...my friend bought and sold and pulled out with profit to dutch carribean islands during the global collapse where he bought new house and watched it double in value while americas home values fell....it seemed china and places like central america went on with no real effect on thier realestate and in fact a boom compared to the rest of the world.....I watched on youtube documentary of panama farmers selling land so high priced that farming was no longer economical except in small nitch exotic coffe and exotic fruit markets which are not very big globally...I thought,will panama be come slave to prices of food imports? i read in la prensa news about the current panama president declaring that panama is indeed set to ride into being import dependant for its food...Nieghbours like nicaragua and honduras may be able to fill panamas need at near normal panama prices -but like the oil companies do,panama will be subject to price fixing of the exporting country...those countries will take over panamas past agricultural customers in america and europe while also taking on panama as customer..so those countries will experience a sort of economical boom....its all good except when prices rise beyond the common citizens means and the tourist find it not worth the cost to justify staying in lower standard of infrastructure...The real estate induced collapse came in USA and the rest of developed world when prices far out paced the working mans means to buy or rent in the over inflated housing market.......philippines and peru are the clear developing countries now set to take the lead in emerging economies... At this point it is cheaper to buy a nice home in nice infrastructure in many areas of USA..the tipping point in panama begins when local subsistence is overun and the struggle begins with either civil revolt and or government change in the liberties it allows foriegn investors as is also the case in buffering americas economy as it makes recovery....Panama population is small compared to many places and that is an advantage for now,but even so it is the ratio of population to vital resources that makes or breaks the ease of lifestyle..so when the vital resource of food is squandered,the people who make the country(average locals) will have no choice but to set their country into better direction for their needs and not foriegn interest that may bring money and jobs for many,but inflate the countries value mainly for a small profiteering group of the population......i still remember hawaii dole pineapple farms pulling its canned fruit and juices factory/farm out of hawaii and into philippines and keeping its central america operation too. the land prices in hawaii among the highest in america,although there are places in hawaii to buy $15,000.oo an acre/half hectare with poor roads and no running water but lots of rain to fill tanks... with water..hawaii agriculture includes coffee and exotic fruits on a small scale now,the bigger hawaii farm operations are pulling out to keep themselves affordable..It is the good social services programs in USA that keep hawaii in stability even though jobs go,unemployment and other types of welfare programs keep people going...i wonder how good of a welfare program panama is set to make? i was in thailand when they had food inflation and national revolts also...The Thai government had to subsidise and legislate to keep it in control....Moderation will come soon or at worst it will come after its too late making harder recovery process.......in any country,real estate is the land and that is the lifeline of all its people and when it is put out of their reach to simply be at home,drastic change will come and the ones with the inflation to their benefit will be the ones to pay up towards better equality.....good on panama and its people....

Kovalenko & Vera Attorneys at Law in Panama

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central america economy

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