Exploring Panama City’s Premier Neighborhoods

Twenty years ago, you could have bought almost anything in Panama and felt confident that you’d earn a good return.

That’s no longer the case.

Today, you need to target your investment search.

So, if you’re eyeing a property purchase in Panama City, here are our pick of neighborhoods for you to choose from.

San Francisco

San Francisco is to Panama City what Manhattan is to New York. It’s the commercial, financial, and residential hub of the city. Some of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods in the city are found here, like Punta Pacífica and Punta Paitilla.

It’s home to the skylines that characterize Panama City as well as some of the city’s most famous buildings, like the JW Marriott Panama, Atlapa Convention Center, Multiplaza mall, and Hotel Las Americas.

Most importantly, this is a trendy area with a wide assortment of shops, cafés, restaurants, and nightlife venues. It’s also home to Parque Omar, the Central Park of Panama City, as well as Calle 50, the city’s most important financial and commercial thoroughfare.

Panama’s two best private hospitals—Hospital Punta Pacífica and Hospital Paitilla—are in San Francisco.

This is one of the city’s oldest corregimientos. It’s been developing and modernizing since the 70s, and it’s where Panama’s real estate boom is concentrated.

It’s a rapidly developing area with a mix of homes and high-rise apartments.

San Francisco is a mostly upper-middle- to upper-class area. I see the best play here as an apartment that’s rented on a medium- or long-term basis to this market.

Costa Del Este

Costa del Este is unlike anything else in Panama City…

It’s a 740-acre master-planned suburb that stands out for being the city’s best planned community. In contrast to San Francisco, everything in Costa del Este is new and shiny.

It’s a neighborhood within the corregimiento of Juan Díaz, and it’s found just off the main highway that takes you into Panama City from the international airport.

Also, it’s among Panama City’s most sought-after business and residential addresses, and it offers strong investment potential. A number of national and international companies are based here, which has attracted expats from all over the world—especially those with families.

Spacious, walkable, clean, safe, and turn-key, Costa del Este is both a classic suburb and a truly cosmopolitan neighborhood. It’s also home to Panama City’s newest John Hopkins-affiliated hospital, as well as being just minutes away from a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.

On the other hand, prices in Costa del Este are some of the highest in the city, but demand remains strong.

What’s the best play here? Firstly, targeting the executives and employees of multinational corporations, again with medium- to long-term rentals. Buying pre-construction either to sell or to rent at completion can also be an effective and profitable strategy.

In this neighborhood, we’ve got the inside track on an investment opportunity boasting a strong 8.8% annual ROI.

Bella Vista

Bella Vista is a corregimiento made up of some of Panama City’s most important neighborhoods, including Obarrio, Marbella, El Cangrejo, Avenida Balboa, El Carmen, and La Cresta.

Today, it’s been undergoing a major overhaul that involves widening sidewalks, putting power and communication cables underground, improving parks, and more, all designed to craft a young, metropolitan lifestyle.

In short, living here puts you in the heart of the city, with easy access to everything. Calle 50, a major Panama City thoroughfare, runs through it. Also close is Calle Uruguay and its vast selection of bars, restaurants, and clubs.

One of the city’s most popular expat neighborhoods, El Cangrejo, is here. And, it’s close to public transportation, schools, universities, clinics, pharmacies, grocery stores, restaurants and bars, and plenty of green areas.

It’s central, so you can easily reach other areas of the city, and best of all, it’s walkable—one of the few neighborhoods in Panama City that qualifies as such.

Most importantly, I see the best play in Bella Vista as a medium- or long-term rental apartment in El Cangrejo that targets young professionals, millennials, and digital nomads who are attracted by its fun and funky atmosphere.

To smooth travels and successful property buys,