Foreigners can own real estate in Panama personally.

Foreigners have the same property rights as any Panamanian. (with the exception of the 10 km (6miles) strip along the border and for certain islands)

It is not necessary to have a residency visa or a bank account in Panama to own real estate in Panama.

Foreigners can own and register a property in their own name, create a company or foundation to hold it, or even use a foreign company or trust fund and make it part of an IRA of 401k.

Panama offers a safe environment with a stable democracy and a good economy. Panama is often called the Switzerland of Latin America! The canal brings in $5 billions a year and the economy has a Growth Rate of 7% a year!
Panama can boast to have a Literacy Rate of 96%, world class hospitals such as Johns Hopkins, one of the best infrastructure of Latin America and all that with an affordable cost of living. Panamanians are known for being welcoming and many speak English.

The steps to buying include negotiating the price and terms through a no deposit offer. Once the offer is accepted and signed by both parties, the formal sales agreement is made ( Promise of Purchase and Sale) . At this point, a deposit is paid, traditionally to the sellers and the agency, but I can recommend trusted lawyers who can secure the funds in escrow until the sale is finalized. Transfer taxes are the responsibility of the seller and must be paid just before registration. The funds from the deposit are usually used to pay these taxes. The buyer pay notary and registration fees and it’s own lawyer, which is in total usually between $1,500 and $4,000 depending on the price of the property and the trust services chosen. There are English-speaking lawyers in Panama as well as certified English-Spanish translators.

Panama offers several permanent residency visa programs that are easy to obtain and very advantageous. These visas have no minimum annual stay and allow free entry and exit, with typically just a requirement of staying 24 hours in Panama every two years. Among the best known, there is the "Pensionado" visa accessible with a monthly pension of $1,000 (+ $250 for a spouse), offering significant discounts to retirees on utilities, meals, cinemas, hotels, airfare, medical care and medication. For those without a pension, the "Friendly Countries" visa is available with an investment of $200,000 in real estate. It is also possible to expatriate fiscally to Panama, while retaining your nationality. This allows you to no longer pay taxes in your country of origin, nor in Panama for relocated income (for example, online work, online sales of services, etc.), or to benefit from reduced taxes in Panama.

However, you must remain vigilant and carefully check who you are doing business with abroad, even with Expats. Sometimes even more so with Expats, because there are some who improvise themselves as real estate consultants and abuse the trust that we automatically have towards compatriots.