Official figures show apartment transfers rose 11% and apartment mortgages 15.4% in 2025, while deals on houses and land fell. What the split means for anyone who may one day want to resell.
Property registrations in Panama fell 2.8% in 2025, according to figures from INEC, the national statistics institute, reported by La Estrella de Panamá on February 7. The headline number hides a sharp split. Apartments had a good year. Houses and land did not.
INEC divides registered property into two groups. Horizontal property is property held under Panama's condominium regime, now governed by Law 284 of 2022, in which each owner holds a unit plus a share of the common areas. In practice it is mostly apartments. Everything else, mainly standalone houses and plots of land, is non horizontal property.
The fall in houses and land drove the overall decline. La Estrella described the result as a market in transition rather than in crisis.
The figures do not explain themselves, but the context helps. Foreign buyers have been an important source of apartment demand. In November, La Prensa reported that much of the stock built up during the pandemic was only cleared in 2025, with buyers from Colombia, Venezuela and the United States among the most active, many paying more than US$300,000.
That price point is no coincidence. US$300,000 is the property minimum for Panama's Qualified Investor residency, which grants permanent residency straight away, and 83% of the program's certificates relate to real estate. Since October 2024 the program has also allowed buyers of units still under construction to pay the developer directly if a bank guarantee is in place.
Apartments also suit the way many foreign owners live. A unit in a managed building is easy to lock up and leave, simple to rent out when the owner is away, and close to the services of Panama City or the beach towns. The rise in apartment mortgages shows that more buyers were financing their purchases, not only paying cash.
For an investor, the most useful line in the data is transfers. A segment where more units change hands each year is one where a seller is more likely to find a buyer. On the 2025 numbers, that describes apartments better than houses or land.
Three caveats are worth keeping in mind:
Liquidity also depends on the individual property. Buyers of resale apartments look at how the building is run, its maintenance fees and reserves, the condominium rules and whether any special charges are pending. A unit in a well managed building with clean paperwork will usually sell more easily than a similar unit in a building with disputes or unpaid fees.
If you are buying in Panama to qualify for residency, think about the exit at the start. You will usually keep the property for years to maintain your status, and when you sell, the next buyer will check the same things you should check now.
Our real estate due diligence service in Panama covers a Public Registry search for liens, mortgages and lawsuits, the condominium rules and any unpaid building fees, developer permits and progress on projects still under construction, and whether the purchase satisfies the visa you are applying for, such as the US$300,000 Qualified Investor route or the US$200,000 Friendly Nations route. Our Panama residency program then takes care of the application with our local team of lawyers and a fixed fee quoted in writing.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
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