Market study
Panama City's residential market, in data
Updated: September 2026 · Market study: July 2026
Real numbers on the capital's apartment market: price per m² by area, rental yields, absorption speed and purchase costs. Compiled by Vaca Group (Lic. PN 5904, ACOBIR member) from public and association sources — the same data we use to advise our clients.
- Median $/m² · city
- $2,200
- Median apartment
- $265,000
- Gross yield · city
- 7.6%
- Prices 2020–2025
- +60%
- Months of inventory
- ≈7.7 mnew housing · Panama City
Absorption by price segment (MOI, months of inventory)
The $180–300K bracket is today's most dynamic segment (62 sales/month, +30% year over year), driven by investment-residency visas. Below $180K demand cooled after the first-home transfer tax; above $500K absorption is the market's slowest.
Reference new construction by area (USD/m²)
Typical price by unit type
| Unit type | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Studio · 35–55 m² | $130,000 |
| 1 bedroom · 50–75 m² | $185,000 |
| 2 bedrooms · 75–110 m²most liquid | $295,000 |
| 3 bedrooms · 120–220 m² | $475,000 |
Luxury segment
The luxury segment: Panama City's prime neighborhoods
The areas where high-net-worth demand — local and international — concentrates are read separately from the citywide average. Above, our own data by area; below, external references with their source, in separate tables because they don't measure the same thing.
Our data by prime area
| Area | New build $/m² (Jun 2026) | Resale · median $/m² (May 2026) | Gross yield 2-bed | Vacancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punta Pacífica | $4,200 | $2,696 (n=299) | 6.4% | 2–4% |
| Punta Paitilla | $3,800 | — | — | 2–4% |
| Santa María | $3,900 | — | 6.1% | 2–4% |
| Ocean Reef | — | — | — | — |
| Costa del Este | $3,760 | $2,762 (n=273) | 7.3% | 2–4% |
| Altos del Golf | — | — | — | — |
| Coco del Mar | — | — | 8% | 5–7% |
| Avenida Balboa | $3,400 | — | 7.3% | 2–4% |
| Casco Antiguo | — | — | — | — |
Source: Vaca Group Residential Market Study, asking prices from portals and the ACOBIR MLS. '—': no data series of its own for the area; its page shows the reference market corridor.
External references
- New build · premium areas (May 2026)
- $3,400–4,200Punta Pacífica, Santa María, Costa del Este · Grupo Los Pueblos
- Citywide median · $/m² (May 2026)
- $2,207.79Grupo Los Pueblos
- Gross rental yield · city (April 2026)
- 7.57%Global Property Guide
- New-construction sales (May 2026)
- 620~$196.7M (+27.8% year over year) · Panama Equity
- New-construction inventory (May 2026)
- 15,499−11% year over year · Panama Equity
- Time to sell a resale (Sept 21, 2026)
- 9–14 months$250K–450K resales · Panamá América
Asking price by corregimiento (June 2026)
| Corregimiento (district) | $/m² (asking) | YoY change | Site neighborhoods it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Felipe (Casco Viejo) | $3,998 | −5.12% | Casco Antiguoa small part of the historic quarter lies in Santa Ana |
| Juan Díaz | $2,846 | +9.08% | Costa del Este, Santa Maríacore of Costa del Este; some developments on its western edge are in Parque Lefevre |
| Bella Vista | $2,353 | +11.95% | Avenida Balboa, Marbella, ObarrioAvenida Balboa only along its central stretch: the west end is Calidonia and the east end, San Francisco |
| San Francisco | $2,329 | +9.13% | Punta Pacífica, Punta Paitilla, Coco del Mar, Altos del Golf, Ocean ReefOcean Reef is assigned by its only access, via Punta Pacífica; the islands aren't named in the boundary law |
Source: Global Property Guide. These are corregimiento-level figures, not neighborhood-level: each corregimiento mixes prime areas with sectors of a different profile, so they don't equal the price of a specific neighborhood and aren't comparable with our per-area resale medians. Neighborhoods assigned per Law 42 of 2017 and the Bella Vista community council; for a specific building, the Public Registry title record governs.
For buyers also seeking residency: since September 16, 2026, Executive Decree 17 requires US$300,000 in new property from the developer and US$500,000 in resale for the Qualified Investor visa.
What changes under Decree 17 →Resale by area: median asking price (May 2026)
| Area | $/m² | Rent $/m²/mo | Gross yield | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marbella | $3,119 | — | — | 50 |
| Costa del Este | $2,762 | $13.45 | 5.84% | 273 |
| Punta Pacífica | $2,696 | $13.44 | 5.98% | 299 |
| Bella Vista | $2,204 | $13.00 | 7.08% | 181 |
| Obarrio | $2,057 | $12.59 | 7.35% | 52 |
| El Cangrejo | $2,042 | $11.76 | 6.91% | 94 |
| San Francisco | $2,038 | $11.61 | 6.84% | 405 |
| National (benchmark) | $2,208 | $12.59 | 6.84% | 3199 |
The city's five submarkets
| Submarket | $/m² | 2-bed (sale) | Rent/mo | Yield | Vacancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Corridor (Av. Balboa · Paitilla · Punta Pacífica)Iconic waterfront towers; executives and foreign capital. | $3,400–4,200 | $345,000–470,000 | $2,100–2,500 | 6.4–7.9% | 2–4% |
| Costa del Este · Santa MaríaPlanned communities; corporate families and long-term rentals. | $3,000–3,900 | $360,000–484,000 | $2,200–2,450 | 6.1–7.3% | 2–4% |
| Banking District (San Francisco · Obarrio · Bella Vista)Highest liquidity and yields; local and rental demand. | $2,400–2,700 | $210,000–280,000 | $1,350–1,700 | 7.3–9.5% | 4–6% |
| Traditional Center (El Cangrejo · Coco del Mar)Walkability, metro and tourism; boutique buildings and studios. | $2,000–2,400 | $210,000–315,000 | $1,200–2,100 | 6.6–8.6% | 5–7% |
| Accessible Corridor (Hato Pintado · Betania · Pueblo Nuevo)Housing for local buyers; subsidized-rate mortgages (Law 481). | $1,200–2,000 | $120,000–230,000 | $900–1,300 | 7–8% | 6–8% |
Costs a foreign buyer should budget
- Down payment · local banks
- 30–40%
- Closing costs
- 1.5–3.5%
- Non-subsidized mortgage
- ≈6.25%
- HOA fee
- $180–280/mo
- Property-tax exemption
- $120,000primary home (Law 66/2017)
If the purchase supports a Qualified Investor visa, Executive Decree 17 of 2026 (in force since September 16, 2026) sets the minimum by the property's condition: US$300,000 if it's new — first sale, never occupied, transferred by the developer — and US$500,000 if it's resale, with the investment held for 5 years. Only the amount above that minimum can be financed. This is general information: confirm it with an immigration attorney.
What changes under Decree 17 →Download the full study
20 pages with the submarket matrix, new-build vs. resale, five-source price triangulation, financing and the 2026–2027 outlook — plus the dedicated Absorption Curve module. In English and Spanish, free.
- ●Price per m² by area: new construction and resale, with sample sizes
- ●Gross rental yield by area and by unit type
- ●Absorption, months of inventory and the $180–300K sweet spot
- ●Due-diligence checklist and purchase costs for foreign buyers
How to cite this study
The data on this page is free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0 license). Suggested citation:
Vaca Group Real Estate, Panama City Residential Market Study, 2026-Q3 — vacagroup.net/en/market
Direct anchors to link each figure: #lujo (luxury segment), #precios-m2 (resale by area), #corredores (city submarkets), #comprador-extranjero (buyer costs).
Download the per-area data (CSV · CC BY 4.0)Methodology and sources
Prices quoted are asking prices, not closings: the median across 3,199 verified listings from Encuentra24, InmoPanama and the ACOBIR MLS (May 2026), cross-checked against Convivienda, Galería Inmobiliaria, Global Property Guide and official figures (Comptroller/INEC, MEF, Superintendency of Banks, DGI). Panama publishes no official absorption series by district: indicators without a public source are calculated or modeled by Vaca Group and flagged as estimates (†). This document is market research for information purposes; it is not financial or investment advice.
Sources: Convivienda (informe anual 2026) · ACOBIR — Informe Semestral de Mercado Primario y MLSAcobir · Galería Inmobiliaria (feb 2026) · Índice PanamaProp sobre Encuentra24, InmoPanama y MLSAcobir (n=3,199, may 2026) · Global Property Guide (Q2 2026) · Contraloría General / INEC · MEF · Superintendencia de Bancos · DGI
- How much does an apartment in Panama City cost in 2026?
- The standard apartment runs a median of $265,000 (~$2,200/m²). New construction averages $2,700–$3,100/m² and resale $2,000–$2,400/m²; in premium areas such as Punta Pacífica, Santa María or Costa del Este, reference new construction reaches $3,400–$4,200/m². Data as of July 2026 from Vaca Group's Market Study (asking prices).
- What rental yield does a Panama City apartment produce?
- The citywide gross yield is about 7.6% per year (Global Property Guide, Q2 2026), among the highest in Latin America. On measured resale medians it runs from ~5.8% in Costa del Este to ~7.4% in Obarrio; on 2-bedroom estimates, areas like Coco del Mar reach ~8.0%. Net yield typically lands 1.5–2 points lower.
- Which price segment sells fastest in Panama in 2026?
- The $180,000–$300,000 bracket: 62 sales/month (+30% year over year, Galería Inmobiliaria) and 3–5 months of inventory, driven by investment visas (Friendly Nations from $200K; Qualified Investor from $300K for new property and $500K for resale since Executive Decree 17 of 2026). The overall new-housing market sits at ~7.6 months of inventory — balanced.