San Francisco
Real Estate in San Francisco, Panama.
In 1923 President Belisario Porras had fishermen and day labourers moved off the shore at Playa Prieta and Panamá La Vieja to make room for Avenida Balboa, resettling them on twelve hectares of a farm called El Coco under the name San Francisco de la Caleta. A century on, that settlement is a corregimiento of the district of Panamá, in Panama, that runs from the towers of Punta Paitilla and Punta Pacífica to Coco del Mar and has added more residents since 2010 than any other in the capital. Apartments under propiedad horizontal make up most of what is sold and rented here, from large units in older bayfront towers to new compact projects near Parque Omar. Houses are the scarce item, kept to a few pockets such as Altos del Golf and Villa Lilla. After several years without zoning of its own, the corregimiento got a new plan in 2025, so find out what the code on a given block allows before you pay for a view.
About San Francisco:
San Francisco borders Bella Vista to the west, Pueblo Nuevo to the north and Parque Lefevre to the east, and its southern edge is the Bay of Panama. Vía España marks the northern side, with Metro Line 1 running along it, while Vía Porras, Vía Israel and Calle 50 cross the corregimiento towards Avenida Cincuentenario and Panamá Viejo beyond. At the western end, Punta Paitilla meets Avenida Balboa and the Cinta Costera, and the Corredor Sur toll road starts at Punta Pacífica on its way to Tocumen airport. Buses fill the gaps, with MetroBus routes along Vía Israel to Multiplaza and Punta Pacífica and along Vía Porras towards Calle 50 and Albrook.
The corregimiento was created by municipal agreement on 9 August 1926, three years after the fishing community was founded. Its parish church, San Francisco de Asís de la Caleta, opened in 1933 and still stands in Coco del Mar, on Calle 79 Este. For decades this was the edge of the city, where people from the centre came to rest and go out. The towers arrived later, first on Punta Paitilla and then on the old Paitilla airport land that became Punta Pacífica. Growth has not slowed: San Francisco went from 43,939 residents in 2010 to 61,290 in 2023, the biggest increase of any corregimiento in the district, spread over 25 urban barrios.
Daily life runs on services within walking distance. Multiplaza Pacific, one of the city’s main shopping centres, sits at Punta Pacífica close to Hospital Punta Pacífica, with the office towers of Torres de las Américas and Oceanía Business Plaza nearby. Parque Omar, 55 hectares of trees, sports fields and running paths on Vía Porras, opens from four in the morning until ten at night, and it is the reason many families choose the interior blocks. Public schools such as the Colegio José Antonio Remón Cantera on Vía Israel share the corregimiento with private ones. Vía Porras, Vía Israel and Calle 50 are lined with restaurants, banks, clinics and supermarkets.
The ground is low and close to the sea, and Punta Pacífica stands on land that was filled before its towers went up in the 2000s. The Río Matasnillo runs along the western side, under Vía España and Calle 50, and reaches the bay at Avenida Balboa; in strong downpours, streets around Calle 50, Multiplaza and Punta Pacífica have flooded. Buyers are a broad mix: Panamanian families who want the park and the schools, professionals who work in the banking district along Calle 50, foreign residents, and investors who buy to let on long leases. Price follows the address closely, with the bayfront towers of Punta Pacífica and Paitilla at the top and the interior blocks of San Francisco Centro and Carrasquilla well below them.
Apartments in San Francisco:
Apartments are most of the market, and the corregimiento holds several quite different ones. Punta Paitilla has the older towers from the 1980s and 1990s, with units that can run from 200 to 600 square metres, while Punta Pacífica was built mostly after 2005, taller and closer to the hospital and the mall. Coco del Mar mixes large units in older bay towers with recent compact projects, and San Francisco Centro and Carrasquilla, between Vía España and Vía Porras, have buildings of every age at more accessible prices. Almost every apartment for sale in San Francisco sits under propiedad horizontal: you buy the unit plus a share of the common areas, pay a monthly cuota de mantenimiento and accept a reglamento that rules on rentals, pets and short stays. Parking spaces and storage units may be titled separately or simply assigned, and in a corregimiento this dense that difference shows up in the price.
Houses in San Francisco:
Houses are the scarce part of the stock, and they cluster in a few pockets. Altos del Golf, by Parque Omar, and neighbouring Loma Alegre are streets of large family homes, some of them mansions, and Altos del Golf still has a few vacant lots. Villa Lilla keeps four streets of 1960s houses on lots of 600 to 1,000 square metres between Vía Porras and Calle 50. In Boca La Caja, on the bay beside Punta Pacífica, low-rise family houses built by their owners have received formal titles over the past decade. Wherever you look, check the zoning code of the lot as well as the house, because the 2025 plan changed what may be built on some of these streets.
Rentals in San Francisco:
Long-term rental demand is broad and steady. People who work in the banks and offices on Calle 50 and in Punta Pacífica, staff at the hospital, and families who want to be near Parque Omar and the schools all rent here, alongside foreign residents in their first years in Panama. Most apartments for rent in San Francisco are in the towers, furnished or unfurnished, while houses for rent come up mainly in Altos del Golf and Villa Lilla. Before you sign, ask how many parking spaces come with the unit and what the cuota covers. If you plan to sublet, read the PH reglamento first, because it decides whether short stays are allowed.
New Developments in San Francisco:
New buildings are still going up across the corregimiento. In Punta Pacífica, Allure at Punta Pacífica is due in 2027 with units from about 115 to 300 square metres. By Parque Omar, Omar Park View is converting an existing building into 108 apartments, and in Coco del Mar, A19 rises 26 levels with 104 units. The 2025 zoning plan lets developers in San Francisco Centro, La Caleta, Coco del Mar, Carrasquilla, Altos de Carrasquilla and San Sebastián build above the base code if they pay an urban contribution towards local works, so expect more mid-rise projects there. Buying off plan, check the developer’s record, tie payments to construction milestones and find out how your deposits are protected until the unit is registered in your name.
Offices and Commercial Property in San Francisco:
San Francisco has a real office and retail market of its own. Torres de las Américas and Oceanía Business Plaza in Punta Pacífica hold office floors next to Multiplaza, and ground-floor shops, clinics and restaurants line Vía Porras, Vía Israel and Calle 50. Vía Porras in particular is a mixed edge, where businesses operate beside houses and apartment buildings. Before you buy or lease, confirm the permitted use under the zoning code, the parking you will need and how customers will reach you at rush hour.
FAQ:
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Which barrio of San Francisco is the property actually in?
The corregimiento has 25 urban barrios, from Punta Paitilla and Punta Pacífica on the bay to San Francisco Centro, Carrasquilla, Coco del Mar, Altos del Golf, Villa Lilla and Boca La Caja, and prices and rules differ sharply between them. Listings often stretch a well-known name to the streets around it. Ask for the finca number and the exact address, and compare against buildings in the same barrio rather than the corregimiento as a whole.
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Could a taller building go up next to what I buy?
It depends on the block. For several years San Francisco had no zoning of its own after the courts annulled its 2018 partial plan; a new local plan was approved in September 2025 and took effect in 2026. It allows extra height in areas such as San Francisco Centro and Carrasquilla, low-rise apartment buildings on vacant lots in Altos del Golf and towers of up to 40 floors on part of Vía Italia in Paitilla, while Boca La Caja was left out of it. Get the zoning code of the lot and of its neighbours in writing, and check the Registro Público for liens before you sign.
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Does San Francisco flood?
Some streets do in heavy rain. The low ground near the Río Matasnillo around Calle 50 and Multiplaza, and parts of Punta Pacífica and Boca La Caja, have taken water in strong downpours. Ask the administrator whether water has ever reached the basement garage, and compare the street level with the building entrance before you buy.
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Can a foreigner buy property here?
Yes. Foreign buyers have the same ownership rights as Panamanians, and the title is recorded at the Registro Público in your own name or a company’s. With an apartment, ask for the PH reglamento, the building’s latest financial statement and a paz y salvo for the cuota before closing.
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How do I get to the banking district or the airport?
Calle 50 runs straight through the corregimiento into the banking district, and Avenida Balboa and the Cinta Costera start at Paitilla. For Tocumen airport, the Corredor Sur toll road begins at Punta Pacífica. Without a car, Metro Line 1 runs along Vía España and MetroBus routes serve Vía Israel and Vía Porras; expect slow traffic on all of them at peak hours.