The annual meet-up for Lifetime members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group—The Gathering XII—wrapped up on Saturday at the 5-star Santa Maria Hotel & Resort in Panama City.
By all accounts, those who attended had a wonderful time while running the rule over the most exciting opportunities in global real estate today.
From frontier markets with immense potential—like the Caribbean island of Isla Margarita in Venezuela…
To proven destinations where you can ride powerful waves of opportunity, including Lagos, Portugal…Tamarindo, Costa Rica…Los Cabos…and my host destination this week, Panama City.
Ahead of the event, my team spent time on the ground in Panama—touring the sites of some past RETA deals here. My scout, Ciaran Madden, shared this note with RETA members, and I want to share it with you here in Your Overseas Dream Home because it shows the power of being ahead…
RETA members had fun in Panama City at The Gathering XII, where I’ve brought them a number of incredible deals.
“Ronan has often described for me what Panama City looked like when he first scouted it 22 years ago.
Back then it was a sleepy regional capital. It didn’t yet have a metro system. The airport hadn’t been expanded into the ‘Hub of the Americas.’ And the skyline that now ranks among the 50 tallest in the world had barely begun to take shape.
As I traveled along the city’s wide boulevards this week—passing beneath glass towers and construction cranes—I tried to imagine the Panama that Ronan first scouted more than two decades ago. But I found it almost impossible.
I’ve only ever known Panama City as a global metropolis.
I have to constantly remind myself that in the mid-2000s, Panama’s rise was far from obvious. Back then, it took vision to see what Panama would become. It took on-the-ground insights. Local contacts. Real intelligence. In that way, it encapsulates why RETA exists.
The manmade islands of Ocean Reef began as a vision few believed in, but developer Alfredo Aleman and his GLP Group did it…they built an ultra-prime community in the ocean, right next to Panama’s downtown.
Before the start of The Gathering, I spent a day visiting communities where there have been RETA-only deals in Panama City. What struck me was not only that RETA was ahead of the city’s transformation—but that Ronan found the perfect real estate to play it.
Best-in-class communities in the most sought-after locations. Exactly the kind of real estate in huge demand among the wealthy executives, retirees, entrepreneurs, and international residents who have flocked to this booming metropolis.
On Tuesday morning I toured Santa Maria—the 700-acre master-planned community where the 5-star Santa Maria hotel (venue for The Gathering) sits alongside a Jack Nicklaus golf course, the Santa Maria Country Club, and some of the most prestigious residential communities in Panama.
There I visited Ocean House, where in September 2018 RETA members could buy two-bed, two-and-a-half-bath condos with exclusive pricing starting from $238,200.
Today, one is listed for $410,000.
That’s an uplift of $171,800.
I also heard that occupancy rates are running above 90%, with typical monthly rentals between $2,500 and $2,800.
Next, I visited the site for the Bosco community in Santa Maria—a $400 million luxury development that will feature private parkland and more than 45 amenities. RETA members got in first here. Ronan expects the condos that RETA members could own from $456,020 in July last year will be worth $700,000 five years after delivery. Retail demand has already been incredible—the developer’s team told me just 18 of the 129 condos in the tower where we had this deal now remain available.
Bosco di Santa Maria is a $400-million vision of utter luxury in Panama City. Developer’s renders like this shouldn’t be considered final but give a clear sense of the stunning mature parkland that will surround this incredible community.
Afterward, the developer shared an update on the Ipanema community, located on the edge of Costa del Este, one of Panama City’s most fashionable districts—known for its wide boulevards, leafy parks, and vibrant mix of residential and commercial spaces.
Through the RETA deal there in June 2024, RETA members had the chance to secure condos in this landmark building in a prime waterfront location from just $302,400.
Already members have seen major uplifts.
The developers team shared a new price list with me. A premium condo that RETA members could buy for $418,390 is now listed at $521,743.
That’s a boost of $103,353.
I finished the day at the extraordinary Ocean Reef—a pair of man-made islands that hosts some of the most prestigious real estate on the continent, and where RETA members have seen six-figure uplifts.
Standing on the islands, looking back at the towering skyline of Punta Pacifica—so close it feels like you could reach out and touch it—it’s impossible not to feel a sense of awe at what Panama has become. And a sense of incredible optimism about the future of this place.”
My scout Ciaran on Ocean Reef islands last week, taking in the view of Punta Pacifica. In 2019 and 2021, I brought RETA members deals in Ocean Reef’s Seascape development. RETA members have seen price boosts of $212,000. (And that’s not counting rental income.)
Ronan says: Panama City has emerged as a true global capital in the tropics. And RETA has consistently been ahead of this transformation. It’s been such a rewarding part of my RETA beat for so long and RETA’s connections run very deep here.
That’s why I was so keen to have The Gathering in Panama…
It’s efficient: I bring the world to attendees—my contacts, my scouts, and all the latest deals from my global beat, all under one roof—then place it right in the heart of a red-hot market where the right move on the Path of Progress can truly deliver.
I’m already thinking of next year’s event. I suspect it might stay in Panama City, where attendees had so much fun this year…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
