How much does a condo cost in Panama City?

What do Panama City condos list for, and what do they close at?

For a normal condo search in Panama City, start with $200,000 to $300,000. Older units still fall below $150,000, and new or luxury towers pass $500,000 quickly.

The median asking price is about $2,244/m² for apartments in the district of Panamá, based on 14,959 listings tracked by TuLugar in October 2026. At that level, a 90 m² condo lists for about $202,000 and a 120 m² unit for about $269,000.

What people actually pay is lower. Resale apartments that closed through the ACOBIR MLS in the first half of 2026 averaged $1,726/m². Most of that sample is older resale stock, while the listing pool includes brand-new towers, so the gap is not a discount you can expect on every unit.

The bands below are our working categories, not an official classification.

Condo profile	Typical budget today	What that usually means
Value / older resale	$120k–$180k	Older tower, smaller unit, renovation or cheaper location
Mainstream central condo	$180k–$300k	Broad resale choice in San Francisco, El Cangrejo, Obarrio
Newer / premium condo	$300k–$500k	Newer towers, bay views, Punta Pacífica and Costa del Este
Luxury condo	$500k–$1M+	Prime towers, larger units, open ocean views, full amenities
Ultra-luxury	$1M–$3M+	Penthouses, trophy units and branded residences

Why can two Panama City condos in the same neighborhood cost twice as much?

Two condos a few streets apart can have a 50% gap per m², because in Panama City the tower often sets the price more than the neighborhood does.

PanamaProp's 2026 building-level study shows it clearly. In El Cangrejo, Van Gogh had a median asking price around $2,886/m², while Aranjuez was around $1,941/m²: a 49% gap. In Punta Pacífica, Grand was around $2,965/m² and Peninsula around $1,929/m², a 54% gap.

Age explains part of it. Older towers have bigger apartments, dated kitchens and bathrooms, fewer amenities and repairs coming. Newer towers have smaller layouts, new lifts and systems, pools, gyms and coworking rooms, and nothing to renovate for a while.

So $250,000 can buy 120-140 m² in an older tower or 60-80 m² in a new one in the same area. Use the neighborhood median as a first filter, then ask for the price per m² of the last units sold in the exact tower.

What does $200,000 buy in Panama City today?

$200,000 still works well in Panama City, mainly for resale condos in the established central neighborhoods.

At the citywide listing median of $2,244/m², it buys about 89 m². On PanamaProp's October 4, 2026 medians, it buys about 104 m² in San Francisco ($1,920/m²), 101 m² in El Cangrejo ($1,978) and 99 m² in Obarrio ($2,026). At ACOBIR's closed resale average of $1,726/m², it would cover about 116 m².

New towers change the picture fast. At $3,000/m², $200,000 buys about 67 m². At $4,000/m², it buys 50 m².

If space and location matter more than a new lobby, $200,000 is a serious budget. If you want a brand-new tower with full amenities in a prime area, the choice gets thin.

Is $250,000 still a good budget for a Panama City condo?

Yes. $250,000 gives you real choice without pushing you into the luxury end.

At the $2,244/m² listing median it covers about 111 m². At $2,500/m² it buys 100 m², and even at $3,000/m² you still get about 83 m².

This budget works well for resale in San Francisco, El Cangrejo and Obarrio, and for older units in Punta Paitilla ($2,149/m²). You get to compare a large older condo with a smaller unit in a newer tower instead of taking whatever sits at the bottom of the market.

It is also where demand is. Vaca Group's 2026 study counts about 62 new-home sales a month between $180,000 and $300,000, with only three to five months of inventory, so expect less room to negotiate in that bracket than above $300,000.

How much do condos cost in San Francisco, El Cangrejo and Obarrio?

A mainstream condo in San Francisco, El Cangrejo or Obarrio lists for about $1,900-$2,050/m², so roughly $180,000-$300,000 for most ordinary units.

PanamaProp's October 4, 2026 index (deduplicated asking prices) puts San Francisco at $1,920/m², El Cangrejo at $1,978 and Obarrio at $2,026. Punta Paitilla, next to the bay, is at $2,149.

The bedroom medians are close too: $179,000 for a 1-bedroom in El Cangrejo, $193,390 in Obarrio and $204,100 in San Francisco. San Francisco's median 2-bedroom ($190,000) is even below its 1-bedroom, a sign that many of its 2-bedrooms are in older towers.

Bella Vista has no median in this index. Its closed MLS resale average was $1,405/m² in the first half of 2026, but on a small sample.

Area	Median asking $/m²	100 m² equivalent	Median 1-bed listing	Median 2-bed listing
San Francisco	$1,920	$192,000	$204,100	$190,000
El Cangrejo	$1,978	$198,000	$179,000	$219,146
Obarrio	$2,026	$203,000	$193,390	$247,000
Punta Paitilla	$2,149	$215,000	$266,475	$265,755

How expensive are Costa del Este and Punta Pacífica condos now?

Costa del Este and Punta Pacífica sit clearly above the central neighborhoods, and $300,000-$500,000 is the realistic range once you look at newer towers.

PanamaProp's October 4, 2026 medians put Costa del Este at $2,750/m² and Punta Pacífica at $2,521/m². A 120 m² condo at those medians lists for about $330,000 and $303,000. The median 1-bedroom is $306,000 in Costa del Este and $300,000 in Punta Pacífica; the median 2-bedroom is $380,900 and $456,000.

Inside each area, new and resale are two different markets. Panama Equity's Q1 2026 broker benchmarks put Punta Pacífica at about $2,200/m² for resale and $4,300/m² for new construction, so the same 120 m² goes from about $264,000 to about $516,000. There is no single useful "Punta Pacífica price".

Floor, view, finishes and amenities add another layer on top, which is why prices above $500,000 are normal in the best bay-facing towers.

Market	Resale $/m²	New / preconstruction $/m²	Approx. new-build premium
Costa del Este	~$2,500	~$3,800	~52%
Punta Pacífica	~$2,200	~$4,300	~95%
San Francisco	~$1,900	~$3,500	~84%
El Cangrejo	~$1,770	~$2,800	~58%
Avenida Balboa	~$2,400	~$3,300	~38%

How much extra does an ocean view cost in a Panama City tower?

Nobody publishes a measured ocean-view premium for Panama City, so be wary of any broker who quotes you a precise one.

The closest proxy is the bayfront itself. On Panama Equity's Q1 2026 resale benchmarks, Avenida Balboa, where most towers face the bay along the Cinta Costera, sits at about $2,400/m² against $1,900/m² in San Francisco: about 26% more. On PanamaProp's October 2026 asking medians, Punta Pacífica is 31% above San Francisco, but Punta Paitilla only 12%.

Those gaps mix view, age and location, so read them as orders of magnitude. Inside one tower, the difference between a bay-facing line and a city-facing line on the same floor is the number that matters.

What to do: ask the developer or the PH administrator for the price list by floor and line, and compare units with the same layout. Then check what can be built in front of you. A view over an empty lot or a low building is not a permanent view, so ask the municipality for the zoning of the lot facing the tower before paying for it.

Are new condos in Panama City really worth almost twice as much?

In some neighborhoods, new towers ask close to twice the resale price per m², so new versus resale is one of the biggest price decisions you will make.

Punta Pacífica is the extreme case in Panama Equity's Q1 2026 figures, at about $2,200/m² resale against $4,300/m² new. San Francisco follows at about $1,900 against $3,500, and El Cangrejo at about $1,770 against $2,800. These are unmatched averages (different towers, sizes and views), so treat them as orders of magnitude.

Part of the gap is real value: modern layouts, new lifts and systems, full amenity floors, no renovation work, and staged payments that make remote buying easier. But in San Francisco, 100 m² costs about $190,000 at the resale benchmark and about $350,000 at the new-build one. Decide what that $160,000 buys you.

Two September 2026 rules now favor new towers. Since September 1, Law 546 exempts the first $120,000 of the first sale of a new home from the 2% transfer tax, whatever the price (a fixed $2,400 saving above $200,000). The seller normally pays that tax, so ask the developer whether the price already reflects it. Since September 16, the Qualified Investor visa needs $300,000 in a first sale of a new home, against $500,000 for a resale.

Be suspicious of new units priced at exactly $300,000. Divide by the m²: a 100 m² unit in El Cangrejo at $300,000 is $3,000/m² against a $1,978 median, so you would be paying about $100,000 for the visa label.

Are Panama City condo prices rising right now?

No. Closed resale prices in Panama City are flat to slightly down. The ACOBIR MLS average was $1,726/m² in the first half of 2026, against $1,756 in the first half of 2025 (-1.7%) and $1,625 in the first half of 2021 (+6.2% over five years).

With inflation at 2.8% over twelve months in September 2026 (INEC), after near zero in 2025, that is a fall of about 4% after inflation.

The split is by building. Panama Equity's July 2026 update describes new and well-kept newer towers holding up, while older towers with weak amenities or deferred maintenance sit unsold. Neighborhood moves are noisy on small MLS samples: San Francisco closings rose 4.3% in a year, Bella Vista fell 16.7% on a small sample.

Don't use broker claims of big price rises to justify an asking price. Closed sales show nothing like that.

ACOBIR MLS closings, $/m²	H1 2021	H1 2025	H1 2026	1-year change
Panama City (all MLS apartments)	$1,625	$1,756	$1,726	-1.7%
San Francisco	$1,674	$1,687	$1,759	+4.3%
Bella Vista	$1,372	$1,687	$1,405	-16.7%

Are Panama City towers cutting prices to sell their empty units?

Some are, but mostly quietly. We found no published list of towers that cut their prices in 2026: developers protect the list price and give the discount in other forms.

The pressure is real. Panama City had 15,499 unsold new homes in May 2026 (Panama Equity, citing Galería Inmobiliaria), 11% fewer than a year earlier but still a big stock. New-home sales tracked by 4S Real Estate fell from 4,737 in 2024 to 2,866 in 2025, down 39.5%, with 1,292 in the first quarter of 2026.

Credit is tighter too. Mortgage lending from January to August 2026 was about 13% lower than a year earlier, and preferential-rate loans fell 34% in January-April 2026.

Resale is a different story. Panama Equity's broker-tracked resale listings fell 31% in Punta Pacífica, 38% in San Francisco and 40% in Costa del Este between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, so good resale units in those areas have fewer competitors.

What to ask a tower with finished, unsold units: how many units are left, how long they have been finished, and the price of the last units sold. Ask for the cut in writing as a lower contract price, rather than free furniture, parking or a few months of PH fees. A lower price also lowers your transfer-tax base and future property tax.

Can you still buy a condo in Panama City for under $150,000?

Yes, but you will be buying an older tower, a smaller unit or a cheaper area. $150,000 is below the median 1-bedroom listing in every neighborhood in PanamaProp's October 2026 index.

The cheapest median 1-bedroom is El Cangrejo's at $179,000. PanamaProp still describes $100,000-$150,000 as a realistic entry range there, and similar older-building options exist in Obarrio, Betania, Juan Díaz, Parque Lefevre and Río Abajo, usually with simpler common areas.

Closed sales confirm it: Bella Vista resale averaged $1,405/m² in the first half of 2026 (small MLS sample), which puts 75 m² at about $105,000.

At this price, the reason for the low price is usually visible on the visit: a kitchen, bathrooms, air-conditioning or wiring to redo, or a building with repairs coming. Budget for it, and check the PH reserve fund before you offer.

A small new unit under $120,000 can also fit, and the first sale of a new home now pays no transfer tax at all up to $120,000 under Law 546. The price per m² is often high, though: a low total does not mean cheap.

How much does a luxury condo cost in Panama City?

A real luxury condo in Panama City starts around $500,000, and oceanfront penthouses and trophy towers run from $1 million to several million.

The median 2-bedroom listing was already $456,000 in Punta Pacífica in October 2026 (PanamaProp). Vaca Group puts new premium stock in Punta Pacífica, Santa María and Costa del Este at about $3,400-$4,200/m², and Panama Equity's Q1 2026 new-build benchmark is about $4,300/m² in Punta Pacífica and Casco Viejo.

The best towers sit well above their neighborhood: PanamaProp's 2026 building study had The Point in Paitilla near $2,964/m², Grand in Punta Pacífica near $2,965 and Acqua I in Costa del Este around $2,914, against $2,149-$2,750 for those areas' medians.

At $4,000/m², a 200 m² condo costs $800,000. At $6,000/m², it costs $1.2 million, before any extra for a penthouse, a private terrace or a branded residence.

Luxury is also where sellers wait longest. Vaca Group estimates six to nine months of inventory between $300,000 and $500,000, and slower sales above that, so your offer has the most room here.

How much can you negotiate off a Panama City condo?

Apartments sold through the ACOBIR MLS in the first half of 2026 closed about 6% below their last asking price, on average, after about 224 days on the market. That is the best closed-sale benchmark available.

It covers 85 apartment sales across the MLS, so it is a guide, not a rule for every tower. It is also measured against the last asking price: units that were cut along the way had already come down before the final 6%.

The room depends on the unit. A fresh, well-priced listing in a well-run tower gives you little. A unit that has sat for months, needs work or started too high can move much more. 6% on a $250,000 condo is $15,000; on $400,000 it is $24,000.

New towers work differently: developers defend the list price because every cut becomes a comparable for the other units, so expect parking, appliances, payment terms or closing costs instead.

Asking price	4% discount	6% discount	10% discount
$150k	$144k	$141k	$135k
$200k	$192k	$188k	$180k
$250k	$240k	$235k	$225k
$300k	$288k	$282k	$270k
$500k	$480k	$470k	$450k

What does a Panama City condo cost after the purchase price?

Owning a Panama City condo costs several hundred dollars a month on top of the price, and PH fees and financing make the biggest difference.

PH (condo) fees run about $1.50-$2.50/m² a month in a standard tower with amenities and $2.50-$4.50 in premium buildings (PanamaProp, April 2026): $150-$250 a month for 100 m², or $250-$450 in a premium tower. ADEMSA's September 2026 sample of 142 listings found most fees between about $1.34 and $2.36/m², with Costa del Este at the top ($1.67-$2.36) and, surprisingly, Punta Pacífica and Paitilla at $1.34-$1.99. A $300 monthly difference adds up to $36,000 over ten years.

Low fees are not always good news. They can mean the PH has put off repairs, and a special assessment for lifts, facades, generators or plumbing can reach five figures per owner. Unpaid PH debts follow the unit (Law 284 of 2022), so get the PH's paz y salvo (clearance certificate) before signing, plus the reserve fund balance and the last two years of assembly minutes. After the magnitude 7.5-7.7 earthquake (agencies differed) near Tonosí on October 9, 2026, also ask whether the tower had a structural inspection.

Financing is expensive for a foreigner. Banco General's 2026 second-home terms are 8% plus the 1% FECI surcharge, up to 70% financing, over 20 years. With 30% down on $250,000 you borrow $175,000, which costs about $1,575 a month counting FECI. On $400,000 you borrow $280,000: about $2,519 a month. The 6.5% you may see is the Superintendency of Banks' reference rate, not an offer to a foreigner.

Buyer closing costs for a cash purchase run about 1.5%-3% of the price (lawyer 1%-1.5%, notary and Public Registry), more with a mortgage. The 2% transfer tax is normally paid by the seller.

Property tax depends on use. On a $250,000 condo you rent out or use as a second home, the rate is 0.6% on the value between $30,000 and $250,000: about $1,320 a year. Registered as your main home, it drops to about $650. The tax is based on the registered value, which can be lower than the price, so check the property's record.

Can you rent out a Panama City condo on Airbnb if the PH says no?

No. Even where the law allows it, your tower's PH rules have the last word, and many Panama City towers ban short stays outright.

The law is strict already. In the district of Panamá, renting for less than 45 days without a tourism accommodation authorization (ATP) exposes the owner to fines of $5,000 to $50,000, advertising included (article 21 of Law 80 of 2012). Bill 301 (10% ITBMS, ATP registry) passed its first debate on January 6, 2026, and bill 713 (15% ITBMS, repeal of Law 80) has not reached its first debate. On October 28, 2026, neither is law, and no vote took place between October 20 and 28.

The money is also smaller than brochures suggest. On AirROI (October 2025-September 2026), a 1-bedroom in Panama City averages $99 a night at 54% occupancy, and AirROI puts its revenue at about $13,300 a year (listings are not open every night), before cleaning, platform fees, 10% ITBMS and 15%-25% management. The median 1-bedroom asking rent on a long lease is $1,200 a month in San Francisco, $14,400 a year.

Before you buy for short stays, get the PH rules (reglamento de copropiedad) and the last assembly minutes, and check whether the building has, or can get, tourist use. A developer's occupancy figure means nothing if the building cannot legally take those guests.

Which budget should you start a Panama City condo search with?

For most buyers, $200,000-$300,000 is the right working budget for a Panama City condo, and $300,000-$500,000 is where newer towers and bay views start.

Below $150,000, real options remain in older towers and cheaper areas. Around $180,000-$250,000, resale gets interesting in San Francisco, El Cangrejo and Obarrio, at about $1,920-$2,026/m² on PanamaProp's October 2026 index.

New towers need a higher reference point: their price per m² runs roughly 50%-95% above resale in several neighborhoods. Punta Pacífica ($2,521/m²) and Costa del Este ($2,750/m²) start higher still, and luxury starts around $500,000.

If we had to pick one number for a buyer who hasn't chosen a neighborhood or a tower yet, it would be $250,000.

Then check five things before the headline price: the price per m² against the neighborhood median, the last sales in that tower, its age and PH accounts, the monthly fee, and what the PH rules allow. Open about 6% below asking on resale, and ask for a written price cut on a finished new unit that hasn't sold.