Words: Keith Osborne

Published: 28th February 2008

Central America – Top 10 research resources

In our continuing series of articles focusing on useful resource websites for agents looking to sell property in emerging destinations around the world, this week the spotlight falls on Central America. Finding property developers in Panama, for example, is one thing - getting the lowdown on the country itself is another.

The UN’s World Tourism Barometer report showed that tourist figures for the region increased by 10.3% in 2007, one of the highest year-on-year improvements across the globe. Mexico and Panama are already established tourism and buying destinations with the North American market. They have also been attracting more attention from European investors in the last couple of years.

Investment site Global Property Guide has identified “spectacular” rental yields in Panama City, Guatemala City, San Jose (Costa Rica) and San Salvador (El Salvador), with “excellent” returns in Managua (Nicaragua), indicating that the whole region could attract international investor attention.

We’ve sifted through many sites to bring you this list of the most useful for those looking to find out more about Central America. Most are free-to-access, though you’ll need to pay for some to get full detailed information.

We'd love to hear about your favourite sites for Central America - don't forget, you can post your comments below.

1. Reveal Real Estate. Site providing news and opinion on living and investing in Central America, with some country-specific focus on Panama, Nicaragua, Belize and Costa Rica. Contains some interesting market analysis and regional statistics.
2. Discover Central America. Well-presented tourism site for the region. No real estate section, but good for getting a flavour of Central America, with lots of information on resorts and lifestyle and some useful further contacts.
3. Panama Guide. English-language guide to all aspects of life in Panama. Among nearly 6,000 articles on the site is a frequently updated section on real estate with news and destination guides.
4. Doing Business. Regional and country-specific rankings on how easy it is to conduct business in a number of sectors, including property, around the world, based on data from the World Bank Group.
5. Mexonline. English-language online guide to Mexico, with lots of information on lifestyle and an extensive real estate section. Plenty of destination guides, property listings and buying information plus a useful directory of property agents and other affiliated companies in each region.
6. Panama Investor Blog. This site covers all aspects of investment in Panama, but has a dedicated real estate strand with news and analysis on property and residential tourism. It is frequently updated and features original content along with stories from reputable international sources.
7. Costa Rica Tourism. English-language site covering many aspects of life in Costa Rica. The property section carries a number of articles and regional guides as well as an extensive directory of local agents and associated companies.
8. The Panama Report. Real estate blog with regularly updated opinion on the Panamanian property market. The site also features some diverse lifestyle information.
9. Central America Today. Free-to access site for a bi-monthly subscription magazine costing $52 (£25) for one year (six issues to Europe/UK), covering trade, tourism and commerce in the region. Though there’s little content on the site itself, and no specific property strand, this article is a good general “beginner's guide” to business travel in Central America with some useful tips to prepare your trip.
10. Latin America Monitor. Part of the Business Monitor group, a subscription news source offering regional newsletters focused on commerce, the economy and politics. The Central America and Mexico newsletters cost £380 each for a 12-month subscription, including 15 print issues of the magazine and full access to the website and archives. There’s no dedicated property strand on the site, so you might be paying for a lot of information that you don’t need, but it offers a free trial, which should give you an idea if it’s worthwhile for you.

Find out the best property portals for Central and South America for you in our property portal directory.

If you're researching other destinations, please refer to our other articles:

Top 10 research resources for Argentina
Top 10 research resources for Baltic States
Top 10 research resources for Brazil
Top 10 research resources for Canada
Top 10 research resources for China
Top 10 research resources for Egypt
Top 10 research resources for Germany
Top 10 research resources for India
Top 10 research resources for Malaysia
Top 10 research resources for Morocco
Top 10 research resources for Philippines
Top 10 research resources for Russia
Top 10 research resources for South Africa
Top 10 research resources for UAE
Top 10 research resources for Ukraine

User Comments

Appreciate the mention in your top 10 resource list for Central America. We've just added a directory (with standardized price comparisons) of real estate developments in Panama, Nicaragua, Belize and Costa Rica marketing to the international investor.

Jane Bakerson, http://www.revealrealestate.com

Here is the one you missed ThinkPanama.com This site a panama based portal site although new is destined to be the Yahoo of Panama. It is has a great business model fueled by the Panama real estate boom so have a look at their property listing pages and you will find some gems that all you investors can only hope to find elsewhere.

Paul Wylie, Bizmeds

The Global Edge web site has excellent, helpful information for anybody interested in Latin America and the world. Thank you for all the information. Julio Anaya julio@sunexus.Biz www.Sunexus.Biz "Your Link to Latin America"

Julio Anaya, Sunexus.Biz

Your list is simply made of websites that re-post articles live? Didn't the Drudge Report figure that out already? Only a few of your sites I can see are truly original information :(

Steven, Panama Adventures

Dear Sir/Madame: Please check out the March April issue of Where to Retire and the nice feature onCentral America...the new hot spot. www.wheretoretire.com/admat/online Cheers, Rick

Rick Cammack, PROF, Inc.

Another great resource for real estate in Central America is Century 21 Gold Coast Realty

Chris Powell, Century 21 Gold Coast

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