How expensive is property in Panama now?

Why is it so hard to say what property in Panama costs?

There is no useful single “Panama property price” because ordinary local housing, older Panama City resales and new towers marketed to foreigners are priced in completely different ways.

Panama has no official house price index. So you have to piece the market together from three kinds of data that measure different things: closed sales from the brokers' MLS (ACOBIR), asking prices from portals (PanamaProp, TuLugar, Encuentra24) and developer reports (Panama Equity).

The gap between them is big. ACOBIR's MLS shows Panama City apartments closing at about $1,726 per square meter in the first half of 2026. TuLugar's asking median for apartments in the district of Panamá was $2,244 in October 2026, and PanamaProp's October 4 medians range from about $1,900 in San Francisco to almost $3,500 in Marbella.

Even within a single neighborhood, building age changes the price dramatically. Panama Equity's 2026 review of roughly 25 El Cangrejo listings found newer amenity-heavy buildings averaging about $2,760 per square meter, compared with $1,800 for buildings around 10–20 years old and $1,524 for older buildings with limited amenities.

That is an 81% gap within a few blocks. Any national or citywide average hides too much to answer the question on its own.

How much does a Panama City apartment cost now?

A normal Panama City resale apartment sells for roughly $1,700–$2,500 per square meter, while newer premium property commonly asks more than $3,000.

At $2,000 per square meter, a 100-square-meter apartment costs about $200,000. At $2,500, the same apartment reaches $250,000. Newer construction at $3,500 pushes it to $350,000, and $4,000 per square meter takes the price to $400,000.

The neighborhood asking prices make those ranges more concrete. PanamaProp's October 4, 2026 medians put San Francisco at about $1,920 per square meter, El Cangrejo at $1,978, Obarrio at $2,026, Punta Paitilla at $2,149, Punta Pacífica at $2,521, Coco del Mar at $2,726, Costa del Este at $2,750 and Marbella at $3,481.

Remember these are asking prices. The typical 2-bedroom apartment in the district of Panamá was listed at a median of $250,000 on TuLugar in October 2026, and actual sale prices land lower.

Someone with $200,000 can still shop seriously in Panama City. The choice gets much narrower once you want a brand-new apartment, a premium building and one of the city's most internationally popular neighborhoods.

Panama City price level	Approx. $/m²	80 m²	100 m²	120 m²
Value resale	$1,700	$136,000	$170,000	$204,000
Established central resale	$2,200	$176,000	$220,000	$264,000
Higher-end resale	$2,900	$232,000	$290,000	$348,000
Premium new construction	$4,000	$320,000	$400,000	$480,000

Neighborhood (asking, Oct. 2026)	Median asking $/m²	100 m² at that price
San Francisco	$1,920	$192,000
El Cangrejo	$1,978	$198,000
Obarrio	$2,026	$203,000
Punta Paitilla	$2,149	$215,000
Punta Pacífica	$2,521	$252,000
Coco del Mar	$2,726	$273,000
Costa del Este	$2,750	$275,000
Marbella	$3,481	$348,000

Are Panama property prices actually going up right now?

Not across the board. Resale prices are flat to slightly down, and the increases are concentrated in new construction.

ACOBIR's MLS shows Panama City apartments closing at $1,726 per square meter in the first half of 2026, against $1,756 a year earlier: a 1.7% drop. Over five years, from $1,625 in the first half of 2021, the rise is only 6.2%.

Neighborhoods moved in opposite directions on that MLS sample: Juan Díaz closed prices rose about 23% and San Francisco about 4%, while Bella Vista fell about 17%. The samples are small, so read those as signals, not trends.

New construction is moving faster. Panama Equity reported in its Q1 2026 report that new-build prices had risen more than 15% over the previous 12 months. Its July 2026 update showed about $196.7 million of new and under-construction property sold in May (620 units), up 27.8% in dollar value from a year earlier.

That happened while developers had about 15,499 units available, 11% fewer than one year earlier. Completed inventory was also down about 8%.

So this is an uneven market. Newer stock has real pricing support from lower inventory, higher construction costs and foreign demand, while older buildings without strong amenities sit still.

Are Panama City condo towers cutting prices in 2026?

Mostly not on the price tag. Developers in Panama City prefer to hold list prices and give discounts in other forms, so the cuts are real but hidden.

The pressure is clear in the sales data. Convivienda counted 4,020 new homes sold in 2025, down 34% from 6,126 in 2024 (its own member sample, reported by La Prensa in September 2026). In the first half of 2026, ACOBIR and INDESA data reported by TVN showed residential sales value down 13% on a year, with homes above $120,000 down 6.2%. Mortgage originations fell about 13% from January to August 2026 (SBP data compiled by Brax).

Inventory is shrinking, but slowly: 15,499 new units were still available in May 2026. Many of them are in towers finished in the past few years that compete with their own resale units.

What to ask for in a finished tower: furniture or appliances, the developer paying closing costs, a parking space or storage unit included, and a few months of condo fees covered. In older resale buildings, ACOBIR's data says apartments closed about 6% below asking in the first half of 2026, so opening 10% below the list price is reasonable.

What to check: how many units are still unsold in the building, the condo association's (PH) budget and arrears, whether the rules allow short-term rentals if you plan to rent, and that the seller can give a paz y salvo for condo fees. Under Law 284, unpaid PH fees follow the unit.

Why is new property in Panama City so much more expensive than resale?

New Panama City apartments carry huge premiums because developers have kept pricing power while buyers pay extra for modern buildings, amenities and installment plans.

Panama Equity's Q1 2026 comparison makes the gap hard to miss. El Cangrejo resale averaged roughly $1,770 per square meter versus $2,800 for preconstruction. San Francisco was around $1,900 versus $3,500. Punta Pacifica was about $2,200 versus $4,300.

Those are premiums of roughly 58%, 84% and 95%.

Costa del Este shows the same pattern at about $2,500 for resale and $3,800 for preconstruction. Santa Maria is closer, at roughly $2,900 versus $3,800, although both figures are already high by Panama City standards.

Scarcer inventory helps developers defend these prices. Panama Equity put the city's condo pipeline (planned, under construction and recently finished) at about 16,311 units in February 2026, a nine-year low, and available new units fell 11% on a year to 15,499 in May.

The awkward bit for buyers is the exit. Paying $4,300 per square meter for a new unit beside resales around $2,200 means a very large premium has to survive once the apartment becomes ordinary second-hand stock.

Neighborhood	Resale $/m²	Preconstruction $/m²	New-build premium	Resale inventory change
El Cangrejo	$1,770	$2,800	58%	-43%
San Francisco	$1,900	$3,500	84%	-38%
Punta Pacifica	$2,200	$4,300	95%	-31%
Costa del Este	$2,500	$3,800	52%	-40%
Santa Maria	$2,900	$3,800	31%	-52%
Casco Viejo	$3,800	$4,300	13%	-59%

Which parts of Panama City are genuinely expensive today?

Casco Viejo, Marbella, Santa Maria, Costa del Este, Punta Pacifica and the best waterfront developments are genuinely expensive markets even before you compare them with local incomes.

Panama Equity puts Casco Viejo resale around $3,800 per square meter and new projects around $4,300 (Q1 2026). PanamaProp's October 2026 asking median for Marbella was $3,481. Santa Maria resale sits around $2,900 and new construction around $3,800, while Punta Pacifica and Costa del Este new projects reach roughly $4,300 and $3,800.

At $4,000 per square meter, a fairly ordinary 150-square-meter apartment costs $600,000. A 250-square-meter family unit reaches $1 million before any premium for views, floor height, branding or exceptional finishes.

Santa Maria takes the luxury market further. Large apartments and branded residences commonly move into seven figures, while the best penthouses and houses can cost several million dollars.

This is where the old idea of Panama as a cheap property destination breaks down fastest. Buyers shopping only in these neighborhoods are in a small international luxury market, not the broader Panamanian housing market.

Can $200,000 still buy a good property in Panama City?

Yes, $200,000 can still buy a solid Panama City property, especially in resale, and it buys a lot more space if you accept an older building.

At the city's average closed price of $1,726 per square meter (ACOBIR, first half of 2026), $200,000 corresponds to about 116 square meters. At Panama Equity's El Cangrejo resale benchmark of $1,770, it is about 113 square meters, and about 105 square meters at San Francisco's $1,900.

The same budget stretches much less in new construction. At $2,800 per square meter, it buys around 71 square meters. At $3,500, about 57 square meters. At $4,300, roughly 47.

Houses can offer more space per dollar. TuLugar's October 2026 asking medians for the district of Panamá were about $1,400 per square meter for houses, against $2,244 for apartments, roughly 38% less.

Total house prices can still be high because houses are larger and include land (the median 3-bedroom house in the district was listed at $375,000), but buyers who mainly want space should look beyond high-rise condos.

Budget	At $1,800/m²	At $2,200/m²	At $3,000/m²	At $4,000/m²
$150,000	83 m²	68 m²	50 m²	38 m²
$200,000	111 m²	91 m²	67 m²	50 m²
$300,000	167 m²	136 m²	100 m²	75 m²
$500,000	278 m²	227 m²	167 m²	125 m²

Is Panama City still cheap compared with other Latin American cities?

Panama City is reasonably priced against major Latin American capitals, but calling it exceptionally cheap is outdated.

Global Property Guide's city comparison, which averages new-build and luxury listings, places Panama City in the same band as Mexico City, Santiago, San José and Montevideo, and above cities such as Santo Domingo, Medellín, Buenos Aires and São Paulo. We could not confirm a dated 2026 figure for each city, so we don't quote a precise gap.

On Panama's own numbers, the city's asking median of about $2,244 per square meter (TuLugar, October 2026) and closed average of $1,726 (ACOBIR) are not low for a country where most local buyers shop below $120,000.

Panama's appeal today comes from the whole package more than from the sticker price: a dollar economy, relatively low property taxes, international flights and a large supply of modern apartments. Purely on price per square meter, Panama City is in the Latin American middle-to-upper tier.

How expensive is beach property in Coronado now?

Coronado is still one of the easier places to buy Pacific beach property well below prime Panama City prices, with plenty of condos in the low-to-mid six figures.

Encuentra24 listings from October 2026 show the range. An 80-square-meter two-bedroom unit asked about $155,000, or $1,938 per square meter. A 105-square-meter one-bedroom asked about $190,000, or $1,810. A newer 110-square-meter two-bedroom asked about $320,000, or $2,909.

Along the wider beach corridor, TuLugar's October 2026 asking medians were about $1,977 per square meter for apartments in San Carlos and $2,563 in Chame, which includes Nueva Gorgona and Punta Chame. Some Playa Blanca and Farallón units asked under $1,800.

A realistic range for ordinary condos in the Coronado area is roughly $1,600–$2,600 per square meter, with newer ocean-view units nearer $2,900–$3,100. Houses are cheaper per square meter: about $1,300 in Chame and $1,500 in San Carlos on TuLugar's data.

Compared with the $3,500–$4,300 per square meter asked in some Panama City new developments, Coronado can still look cheap. Compared with ordinary Panamanian housing, it is clearly a higher-income lifestyle market.

Is property outside Panama City still cheap?

Property outside Panama City can still be cheap, but Boquete and Playa Venao show how badly that generalization can mislead foreign buyers.

Boquete is a mature international retirement market. TuLugar's October 2026 asking median for apartments was about $3,350 per square meter (only 34 listings), and a Panama Properties sample of condos came in at about $3,246. Houses asked about $2,050 per square meter on TuLugar, so a 200-square-meter home lands around $410,000.

Pedasí, which includes Playa Venao, has moved even further from the image of cheap rural Panama. Its apartment asking median was about $3,999 per square meter in October 2026, on just 13 listings, while houses asked about $1,600–$1,900 per square meter.

Bocas del Toro has too little data for a reliable average, but a condo in the Big Creek development was listed at about $4,150 per square meter in August 2026. On the islands, check that the property has a registered title rather than possession rights.

None of these places represents its province. Ordinary homes and land remain much cheaper elsewhere in Chiriquí, Los Santos and Bocas. Nationally, TuLugar's asking medians were about $2,217 per square meter for apartments and $1,305 for houses in October 2026. Leaving Panama City only saves money when you also leave the expat-heavy pockets.

Do Panama sellers actually get the prices advertised online?

Usually no. Panama resale asking prices leave room for negotiation, so listings overstate what buyers finally pay.

ACOBIR's MLS data for the first half of 2026 shows apartments closing about 6% below their asking price on average, houses also about 6% below and land about 12% below. Apartments took an average of 224 days to sell, houses 265.

A $300,000 apartment might therefore close around $282,000. On a $500,000 property, a 6% discount means $30,000. Stale listings, older buildings and sellers who need cash can give more.

Negotiating power is weaker when a property is truly scarce. New developments also behave differently, because developers prefer incentives, payment plans, appliances or closing-cost help over openly cutting the published price.

Keep this gap in mind whenever you use portal data. Listing platforms tell you a lot about direction, relative neighborhood pricing and seller expectations. They don't show the final check.

Can you still buy property in Panama for less than $150,000?

Yes, Panama still has a real property market below $150,000, although foreign buyers browsing English-language brokers rarely see much of it.

A large share of affordable activity happens in areas such as Vista Alegre, Pacora, Las Mañanitas, Pedregal and 24 de Diciembre. Public Registry data shows substantial condo (horizontal-property) activity in these less internationally marketed parts of the metropolitan area.

This segment is struggling, though. Sales of homes priced up to $120,000 fell 28.3% in the first half of 2026 (ACOBIR and INDESA data reported by TVN), because it depends on local mortgages and on the preferential-interest system, which was reworked from January 1, 2026. Preferential mortgages granted from January to April 2026 totaled $132 million, down 34% on a year.

Below $150,000, buyers can also find older Panama City apartments, smaller Coronado-area units and homes in secondary towns, although quality varies widely.

The idea that Panama property starts around $250,000 comes mainly from looking at the inventory marketed to foreigners. Local buyers shop at much lower price points every day.

How much do taxes and closing costs add to a Panama property purchase?

Panama's purchase costs and annual property taxes are manageable, but keep a few percent above the agreed price for the transaction.

For a cash purchase, a lawyer (about 1%–1.5% of the price), notary ($300–$800) and Public Registry fees ($200–$500) bring buyer-side costs to about 1.5%–3% of the price. On a $300,000 purchase, that is roughly $4,500–$9,000. With a mortgage, add bank fees, insurance and the 1% FECI surcharge.

The seller normally pays the 2% transfer tax (ITBI), the 3% capital-gains advance and the 3%–5% agent commission. Since September 1, 2026, Law 546 removes the ITBI on the first $120,000 of any first sale of a new home, whatever the price. Between $120,000 and $200,000, the part above $120,000 pays one reduced rate (0.5% to 1.8%); above $200,000, it pays the normal 2%, so the saving is a fixed $2,400.

Annual property tax is light for a registered principal residence. Panama's tax authority, the DGI, exempts the first $120,000 of taxable value, applies 0.5% between $120,000 and $700,000 and 0.7% above $700,000.

For property without that treatment, including any rental or second home, the first $30,000 is exempt, followed by 0.6% up to $250,000, 0.8% from $250,000 to $500,000 and 1% above that.

In high-rise buildings, condo fees often matter more than property tax. Panama City fees run about $1.50–$2.50 per square meter a month in standard buildings and $2.50–$4.50 in premium ones (PanamaProp, April 2026), so a 100-square-meter premium unit can cost $3,000–$5,400 a year.

Taxable value	General property tax	Principal-residence treatment
Up to $30,000	0%	0%
$30,001–$120,000	0.6%	0%
$120,001–$250,000	0.6%	0.5% above $120,000
$250,001–$500,000	0.8%	0.5%
$500,001–$700,000	1.0%	0.5%
Above $700,000	1.0%	0.7%

Are high mortgage rates making Panama property more expensive?

Yes, financing makes Panama property much more expensive for buyers who need a mortgage, even when the purchase price looks reasonable.

The Superintendency of Banks set the residential mortgage reference rate at 6.5% for the first half of 2026. That is a regulatory benchmark, not what a foreign buyer gets offered. Banco General's 2026 rate sheet quotes 8% nominal plus 1% FECI for a second home, with up to 70% financing over 20 years. Non-residents are handled case by case, with no published rate.

For a foreigner, take a $200,000 apartment financed at 70%: a $140,000 loan at about 9% all-in (8% plus 1% FECI) over 20 years costs about $1,260 a month, or $15,100 a year, before insurance, taxes or condo fees. Over the full term, interest adds about $162,000. If you move to Panama and it's your main home, the FECI normally doesn't apply.

Financing pressure shows up in the sales data. New homes sold fell 34% in 2025 (Convivienda), and non-preferential mortgages granted from January to April 2026 fell 8% on a year to $249 million. The weakest part of the market is the one that depends on local credit.

International buyers paying cash or with large deposits feel much less of that pressure. That helps explain why new condos above $300,000 can still sell while parts of the cheaper local market struggle.

Does the new $300,000 Qualified Investor rule change what you should buy?

It changes where foreign money goes. Executive Decree 17 of 2026, in force since September 16, 2026, sets the real estate route to Qualified Investor permanent residency at $300,000 for a first sale of a new home and $500,000 for a resale property, and the investment has to be kept.

That pushes residency buyers toward new condos priced just above $300,000, which is exactly the segment where preconstruction premiums are largest. A resale unit at the same price does not qualify.

What to do: if residency is the goal, don't pay a 52%–96% new-build premium just to reach the threshold without checking what the same money buys in resale. If you qualify for Pensionado (a lifetime pension of at least $1,000 a month) or Friendly Nations (a $200,000 property, which can be financed), you may not need the $300,000 route at all.

The Law 546 tax break helps only a little here: on a $300,000 new home it saves a fixed $2,400, tiny next to a new-build premium. And since October 9, 2026, Panama is off the EU's list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions (it remains on the watch list), which removes one worry for European buyers' banks.

Are foreign buyers pushing Panama property prices higher?

Foreign demand is pushing prices higher in a fairly small group of Panama markets, mainly new condos and internationally popular neighborhoods.

INDESA estimates that foreign buyers spent $205 million on Panamanian homes in Q1 2026, up 17%, and made 57% of transactions above $120,000. US buyers were the biggest foreign group at $33.6 million, up 53%.

Panama Equity's sales data gives a clear example. New and under-construction condo sales between $300,000 and $400,000 rose from 42 units to 104 in a year-on-year monthly comparison, an increase of about 148%. In early June 2026, 84 developments offered condos in that range, the band that now matches the $300,000 Qualified Investor threshold for new homes.

Foreign demand also concentrates geographically. Costa del Este, Punta Pacifica, Santa Maria, Avenida Balboa and Casco Viejo attract far more international money than ordinary residential areas such as Pacora or Las Mañanitas. Boquete, Coronado and Playa Venao show the same effect outside the capital.

Panama still has plenty of housing below $150,000. Foreign buyers have their biggest impact on a narrower premium market, and that part of Panama is getting expensive quickly.

What does each budget actually get you in Panama?

Panama property is still affordable for buyers who are flexible about location and building age, while prime new property is already expensive by Latin American standards.

Around $150,000 can still buy local-market housing, older apartments and some beach condos. A budget of roughly $200,000–$300,000 opens a big share of Panama City's resale market. Between $300,000 and $500,000, buyers get access to newer central apartments and internationally popular areas, and to Qualified Investor residency if the home is new. Above $500,000, Panama offers a deep luxury market, with seven-figure prices common at the top end.

For Panama City, roughly $1,700–$2,500 per square meter remains a useful range for much of the resale market. Premium resale can approach $3,000, while new projects ask $3,000–$4,300 per square meter.

The latest data makes the split clear. New-construction prices climbed more than 15% over a year and developer inventory fell 11%, while closed resale prices slipped 1.7% and older buildings can sit about 45% below new ones in the same neighborhood.

For someone arriving with $200,000–$300,000, Panama still offers plenty of credible options. Someone expecting a brand-new luxury condo in Costa del Este, Punta Pacifica or Santa Maria for that amount will find that today's Panama costs much more than its old bargain reputation suggests.