Solid Report for Trump Project in Panama
The Trump Ocean Club, the bellwether project under construction on the bay in Panama City, is still hitting its financial and construction targets, the developers told bondholders last week. Newland International Properties sold 23 units in the first half of the year, bringing the total sold to 832 of the 1,004 condominium and hotel units, according to the report, which can be found on the Panama Investor Blog.
While there have been accounts of steep discounts and stagnant sales in other Panama City towers, the Trump project is discounting units an average of only about 13 percent, Newland told investors. The average price for a two-bedroom unit is about $683,000 or $4,452 per square meter.
Like many projects that carry the Trump name, Newland is simply licensing The Donald’s brand. Widely believed to be the most expensive of the many new towers sprouting in Panama City, the Trump Ocean Club’s progress has been closely watched, amid concern the Panama City market is over heated.
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In U.K., Talk of ‘Sporadic and Shaky’ Recovery
As wishy-washy forecasts go, it doesn’t get much more wishy-washy than the Council of Mortgage Lenders prediction for activity in the U.K. Activity increased 26 percent from June to July, the highest level in nine months, according to the industry association’s latest report. But the CML wasn’t exactly popping corks. Lending activity in July was the lowest since 2001, down £11 billion from the July average of £27 billion (and nowhere near the £35 billion of 2007, the golden year of the frenzy).
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