Costa del Este

About Costa del Este:

To the south, Costa del Este runs to the water; to the north, it stops at the Corredor Sur, with Campo Lindbergh and the Presidente Remón racetrack across the highway. On the west it meets Panamá Viejo, La Fontana and San Gerardo Mayela, and on the east the Juan Díaz mangroves and Llano Bonito. Santa María, the gated golf community, is a separate neighbourhood right next door. The Corredor Sur crosses the district and reaches the city over a two-kilometre marine bridge, which puts the banking district about six kilometres west and Tocumen International Airport about twelve kilometres east. For almost everything else, you will want a car.

The ground itself is new. When the project was presented in 1995, its roughly 310 hectares were mangrove, forest and, where the industrial park now stands, an old dump known as the Vertedero de Panamá Viejo. Millions of tonnes of earth and rock went into raising the mangrove land, most of it taken from a hill near Villa Guadalupe that was levelled completely. The plan divided the area into zones, from an office park and a commercial and industrial park to tower blocks, low-density house streets, a central plaza and the Felipe E. Motta park, and that zoning still decides what you find where. The main avenue was named Centenario for the Republic’s hundredth anniversary, and a waterfront promenade of almost four kilometres follows the bay.

On weekdays Costa del Este is a place of work as much as a place to live. The Business Park holds the headquarters of Copa Airlines alongside multinational regional offices, and office towers such as Financial Park stand on the main avenues. Town Center on Avenida Paseo del Mar is the everyday hub, with shops, restaurants and, since 2022, the Pacífica Salud Hospital Costa del Este, affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International and linked to three towers of medical offices. The Academia Interamericana de Panamá is on Boulevard Costa del Este next to the Business Park, and the district also has a Catholic parish, San Lucas Evangelista, and the Kol Shearith Israel synagogue. The promenade is where people walk, run and cycle, which is rare in Panama City.

The people buying and renting here are executives working in the Business Park or downtown, Panamanian families who moved east from the older bayfront districts, diplomatic staff, and foreign families who come for the schools and the short run to the airport. More than fifty developers have built here since the early 2000s, so the stock is far from uniform. An early mid-rise a few blocks inland and a recent tower with high floors facing the bay can be a long way apart in price per square metre, sometimes double. Overall, Costa del Este sits at the top of the eastern city alongside Santa María, and well above older urbanizaciones of Juan Díaz such as Llano Bonito and Ciudad Radial.

Apartments for sale in Costa del Este:

Towers make up most of the market, from the first buildings of the 2000s to recent glass towers on the bay: Riverside, with 41 floors and 206 apartments, Titanium, Matisse, Murano, Ocean Two, The Regent and Parkside among them. Layouts run from one-bedroom units to three- and four-bedroom family apartments and penthouses. When you look at apartments for sale in Costa del Este, you are buying under propiedad horizontal: your unit plus a share of the common areas, with the PH reglamento setting the rules on renting, pets and short stays. Every building charges a cuota de mantenimiento, and it climbs with the amenity list and the size of the staff. Parking spaces and the depósito may be titled on their own or assigned to the unit, and in this market that difference is part of the price, so check it in the Registro Público before you sign.

Apartments for rent in Costa del Este:

Long-term tenants keep this market steady: relocating executives on company housing allowances, diplomatic staff, and families who plan their week around the school run. Two-bedroom apartments are the entry point, while large units and houses in the gated complexes set the top of the range. If you are buying to let, confirm that the building’s reglamento allows the lease you have in mind. Agree up front whether the maintenance fee is included in the rent or paid by the tenant, because both arrangements are common in Panama.

Houses in Costa del Este:

Houses sit in gated complexes in the low-density zone, in three groups. On the western side, along the avenue of the Costas, are Costa Azul, Costa Bay, Costa de las Perlas, Costa Dorada, Costa Serena and Costa Bella. Antigua and Palmeras del Este sit in the middle, between Avenida San Agustín and Avenida Marina del Norte, and the eastern section holds Magnolias, Balmoral, Toscana del Este, Veranda, Puertas del Mar, Villas del Mar, Royal Pacific, Begonias and Camelias. Houses for sale in Costa del Este are far fewer than apartments, and family homes with a garden and pool sit at the top of the local market. Each complex has its own access control and its own fee on top of any residents’ association dues, so ask for both figures, and for the complex’s rules on extensions and façade changes, before you make an offer.

Offices and Medical Suites in Costa del Este:

Commercial space is a real part of this market, not a side note. Offices in the Business Park and in the towers along the main avenues are bought and leased by companies of every size. The three towers of Consultorios Town Center, named Bambú, Arboleda and Palmeras, sell and rent medical suites of 30 to 200 square metres with a direct connection to the hospital. These units are held under the same PH regime as the apartments, with their own fees and rules on use.

New developments in Costa del Este:

Construction has not stopped. On Avenida Centenario, Sky Parc, a 33-floor tower of 140 apartments, sold out before completion and was in its finishing stage by mid-2026. The same developer broke ground that year on Sky Parc II, 45 floors of two-bedroom apartments of 85 square metres, close to Parque Felipe Motta. Buying off-plan, check what the developer has delivered before and how punctually, how the payment schedule is tied to construction progress, and what the contract says if the handover slips. Compare it with resale units in finished towers too, which this district has in quantity.

Frequently asked questions:

• Where exactly does Costa del Este begin and end?

  It runs from the Corredor Sur down to the bay, and from Panamá Viejo, La Fontana and San Gerardo Mayela in the west to the Juan Díaz mangroves and Llano Bonito in the east. Santa María and Costa del Mar sit right beside it and are often sold under its name, but they are separate communities. Check the exact address before you compare prices.

• What does the maintenance fee cover, and how much is it?

  The cuota de mantenimiento pays for staff, security, generators, lifts, insurance and the upkeep of pools, gyms and lobbies. It ranges from a couple of hundred dollars a month in plainer buildings to several hundred in towers with large units and full amenity floors. Ask the PH administration for the current budget, the reserve fund balance, any approved special assessments and a paz y salvo showing the seller is up to date.

• Does parking come with the apartment?

  Most units come with at least one space, and larger apartments with two or more, often with a depósito. Confirm in the Registro Público whether each space is a separate finca or an assigned common area, because that decides whether it can be sold or rented on its own.

• Does the area flood?

  Costa del Este was raised on fill well above the old mangrove ground, and its drainage was part of the original plan. The river flooding that Juan Díaz is known for hits the lower sectors further inland along the river. Even so, ask the building administration whether water has ever reached the basement garage or the access roads during a heavy storm.

• Can a foreigner buy here?

  Yes. Foreigners have the same property rights as Panamanians, and the title is recorded in the Registro Público. Before closing, make sure the unit, its parking and its depósito are free of liens.