When I first came to Panama, I found that they had a great affordable housing program for the working class, where as long as you had a steady job and a little money to put down, you could buy a home with a subsidized program for homes up to $65,000.  Now Panama has raised it to $80,000 and the proposal on the table is to extend the subsidy to homes up to $120,000.  A builder that I met who is the first to do enter the Boquete market offers homes for $70,000 where you if have a job and can come up with $1,000, and he will deliver you a place that costs $150 every two weeks!  This new program for $120,000 homes opens up a huge market segment that is already hot and will get stronger.

President Martinelli announced that the maximum value for a property to be considered for the preferential interest rate will be increased to $120,000.

The measure must be passed in the National Assembly by amending the act, which is expected to happen very quickly.

A current limit of $80,000 has been established as the maximum value of homes that can be financed under the law, which allegedly has led to low-quality housing solutions being built to keep costs within that range.

An article in Panamaamerica.com.pa reports that “Extending the benefits of the Preferential Interest Law to the homes worth $120,000 is an opportunity that is being offered to the professional class in the country so that they can buy a home, according to the promoters’ who explained that ‘another benefit is that more projects can be built downtown which will generate more movement in the market.”