Every Data Point in a Panacomps Report — and Why Each One Matters
We extract over a dozen distinct data elements from Panama's Public Registry for every transaction. Here's what each one tells you — and how to use it.
The Panacomps Team
Panama Real Estate Intelligence
A Panacomps report isn't just a list of sales prices. It's a structured extraction of registry intelligence across a dozen distinct data points — each one sourced directly from Panama's Registro Público de Panamá — that together tell a complete story about a property, a building, and a market.
Here's a breakdown of every data element we provide, what it is, and why it matters for a real estate decision.
The Core Transaction Data
Folio Number
The folio (or finca) is Panama's unique legal identifier for every registered property. Think of it as the property's permanent ID — it never changes regardless of how many times the unit sells, changes name, or gets renovated. The folio is the key that unlocks every filing ever recorded against that property in the registry.
Unit Name and Number
The registered unit identifier as it appears in official filings. This matters because building names and unit numbering conventions in Panama are not always consistent between developer marketing materials and what's actually recorded in the registry. We cross-reference both so you're working with the correct legal unit.
Sales Date
The date the transaction was registered in the Public Registry — not the date the contract was signed or the deposit was placed. This is an important distinction. Panama's registry has inherent filing lag, sometimes significant. The sales date tells you when the transaction became official, which is the legally relevant date for comp analysis.
Sales Amount
The registered transaction price — the number recorded in the official escritura (deed) filed with the registry. This is the ground-truth figure for comp analysis. Not the asking price. Not the developer's quoted price. The actual registered price.
Square Meters
The registered interior area of the unit in square meters as documented in the official filings. This is the number that anchors every price-per-meter calculation. Discrepancies between marketed area and registered area do occur — particularly in older buildings or units with contested measurements.
Price per Square Meter (Computed)
This is Panacomps' core derived metric: sales amount divided by registered square meters. It's not available in the raw registry data — it's computed by us. Price-per-meter is the only apples-to-apples comparison across units of different sizes and is the standard metric used by sophisticated buyers and investors in Panama City.
Price per square meter is the metric that exposes whether a unit is priced in line with, above, or below its building's recent transaction history. Without it, you're comparing absolute prices across incomparable units.
Ownership and Valuation Data
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Owner Information
Current and historical registered ownership — individuals, corporations, or holding structures. This tells you who has legal title to the property, which is essential for verifying seller authority and identifying potential title complications. It also surfaces patterns like frequent ownership flips that may warrant further due diligence.
Assessed Value, Land Value, and Improvement Value
The official valuation assigned by Panama's tax authority (ANIP) and recorded in the registry. This breaks down into three components: the total assessed value, the attributed land component, and the improvement (construction) value. These figures are used to calculate property taxes and are the baseline for transfer tax calculations. Knowing the gap between assessed value and actual transaction prices in a building tells you a great deal about how the market prices that product.
Financing and Encumbrance Data
Loan Amount, Interest Rate, and Bank Institution
When a property is purchased with financing, the mortgage terms are recorded in the registry. We extract the loan amount, the stated interest rate, and the lending institution. For buyers, this helps you understand how comparable units were financed and what financing looked like at the time of purchase. For investors analyzing market dynamics, it surfaces which banks are active in specific buildings and what leverage ratios buyers have historically used.
Lien and Foreclosure Data
Any legal encumbrance filed against the property — unpaid HOA assessments, tax liens, creditor claims, or foreclosure proceedings — appears in the registry and is captured in our data. This is arguably the most important risk data point in any comp report. A unit with an active lien or a pending foreclosure is a fundamentally different asset than an unencumbered one, regardless of price.
Lien and foreclosure data is the element most often overlooked by buyers relying on developer or agent representations. It lives in the registry. It belongs in your due diligence. Panacomps surfaces it by default.
Physical and Historical Data
Construction Date and Occupied Date
When the building was constructed and when individual units received their occupancy certificate (Paz y Salvo de Construcción). These dates matter for property tax exemption calculations, for understanding building age relative to pricing, and for evaluating the depreciation profile of an asset. A building marketed as 'new' should have recent construction and occupation dates — a discrepancy is worth investigating.
Text of Official PDF Filing
Panacomps retains and structures the source text from the official registry PDF documents underlying each transaction. For buyers who want to verify specific details, resolve ambiguities, or do their own analysis of the underlying filings, this is the primary source — available in its original Spanish legal form. We make it accessible; your attorney can review the specifics.
Using These Data Points Together
The real power of these data elements isn't any single one in isolation — it's the picture they form together. Sales amount and square meters give you price-per-meter. Price-per-meter across multiple transactions gives you a trend. Owner information combined with lien data tells you about title cleanliness. Assessed value compared to transaction price tells you how the market is pricing against official valuations.
That integrated view — built on verified registry data, not market estimates — is what Panacomps is designed to deliver. Every data point above is available for 350+ buildings across 86 Panama City neighborhoods.
All data sourced from Panama's Registro Público de Panamá. Data is subject to registry filing lag. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment or legal advice.
— The Panacomps Team
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