If you are looking to speculate on real estate and have a bunch of money burning a hole in your pocket, Panama City, Panama may be your type of town. From a sleepy little capital of a country whose claim to fame is the Panama Canal, Panama City is now a cosmopolitan city where construction is taking off.

The wealthy of South America looking for safety mixed with a healthy dose of Europeans and Americans is making the countries real estate take off. A 106 story building is coming to market in 2011 with many other projects will make this town the new Dubai according to local boosters.

Panama City is in the midst of an unprecedented real estate boom that is transforming the skyline of this once-sleepy Latin American capital. More than 30,000 units worth about $5.7 billion have come on the market since last July, according to Paul McBride, CEO of Prima Panama, a real estate marketing company.
That’s a lot of condos in a country where the total economy measured $16.2 billion last year. And the boom shows no sign of abating: Among the showiest of the new projects is the Ice Tower, a 106-story luxury apartment building and Hilton Hotel complex that will be the tallest building in Latin America when it is completed in 2011. Even Donald Trump has a project on the boards.
Part of what’s driving growth in Panama City, where the median apartment price recently surpassed the median home price in the U.S., is a wave of retirees from North America, like the Buckleys, looking for a place in the sun. So far, few Americans have moved permanently, but many are buying second homes or just plain speculating. Europeans are here too, and there’s plenty of new wealth in Latin America, in places like Venezuela and Colombia, looking for a safe haven.  via Fortune

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