Recently my team and I gathered in Panama City for The Gathering XII, the annual meet-up for Lifetime members of my Real Estate Trend Alert (RETA) group.
For three days, hundreds of RETA members joined developers, attorneys, and key contacts from my Rolodex at the 5-star Santa Maria Hotel & Resort to dig into deals, insights, and insider intelligence from across my global beat.
While in Panama, members of my team took the opportunity to explore the city itself.
Here my scout takes you on a tour of one of the most dynamic cities in the Americas…and inside its most desirable neighborhoods…
Wishing you good real estate investing,
***
Panama City is Rising—A Scout’s First Look
By Alan Gorevan
My first glimpse of Panama City came through an airplane window.
As the plane dipped toward Tocumen International Airport, the skyline rose out of the darkness. Sleek towers glittering faintly against the night.
The view was dazzling.
And during the short Uber ride to my hotel, I kept spotting more towers, one after another, until I realized this was no modest capital, but a sprawling metropolis—far bigger, far more modern and prosperous, than the image of it that I had carried in my head.
When I reached the hotel, the warm tropical air hit me as I stepped out of the car, and even late at night the city pulsed with life. Panama was already rewriting my expectations.
I could hardly wait to see it in daylight.
And not just see it. I wanted to understand Panama at a deep level. So, over the next few days, I set out to explore the city using every free moment I had when I wasn’t at The Gathering XII.
Here’s what I found…
Panama City has the biggest skyline in Latin America. It’s the world’s 25th biggest skyline, beating out LA, Miami, and Beijing to name just a few. And 45 of Panama City’s 50 tallest towers were built after 2000.
The Historic Heart: Casco Viejo
My journey began in Casco Viejo, Panama City’s historic quarter.
It sits on a small peninsula just west of downtown Panama City’s modern skyline. Founded in the 17th century after pirates destroyed the original city, it’s a maze of narrow streets, colonial buildings, and shaded plazas.
Today many of the old buildings have been restored.
Boutique hotels, rooftop bars, cafés, and galleries fill the historic structures, while balconies overflow with flowers. It’s full of color and character, with buildings painted in warm yellows, blues, and terracotta.
Walking through Casco Viejo, music drifts from doorways and fills the streets.
I heard English, Spanish, French, and Italian spoken within the space of a few minutes. Panama City has become an international hub, and that global mix gives the neighborhood a lively energy.
Casco Viejo is Panama City’s soul—where crumbling colonial facades meet rooftop jazz bars, boutique hotels, and artisan cafes.
Out Into the Bay: The Amador Causeway
To see the city from another perspective, I took an Uber out along the Amador Causeway, which extends several miles into the Pacific just west of the city. From there, the roadway angles south-southeast out into the bay, connecting the mainland to a number of islands.
As soon as I stepped out of the car, I began the journey back on foot (ice cream in hand).
This roadway was built using rock excavated during construction of the Panama Canal more than a century ago.
Today it’s one of the most pleasant places in the city to spend an afternoon.
Cyclists ride along the waterfront paths. Sailboats sit in the marina. Restaurants line the shoreline.
I passed the little station where canal pilots are based. These pilots board ships before they enter the canal and guide them safely across the isthmus.
But the real highlight of the Amador Causeway is the views you get from here: Panama City’s skyline rises dramatically across the bay—tower after tower catching the afternoon sun.
And on the other side of the causeway sits a line of cargo ships waiting patiently for their turn through the canal.
Watching them there on the horizon is a reminder that Panama is one of the world’s great crossroads of global trade, making it a magnet for wealth and high-net-worth individuals.
The Amador Causeway stretches into the Pacific, offering sweeping views of Panama City’s skyline and the ships waiting offshore for their turn through the canal. The canal isn’t just a shipping route—it’s a global trade artery and a national revenue engine that has helped bankroll decades of modernization.
Above the City: Cerro Ancon
The same day that I walked the Amador Causeway, I climbed to Panama City’s highest point: Cerro Ancon. Rising about 653 feet, this steep hill is just behind the city and is covered in dense tropical forest.
Near the bottom of the hill are houses and apartments where I saw capybara lolling in people’s yards. As I continued along the trail, these properties petered out and I entered a different world…
When I had climbed the winding trail for 20 minutes, I ran into a man from Minnesota who stopped me and asked if I spoke English.
“Have you ever seen a sloth before?” he asked before leading me over to a spot where one hung in a tree.
As I continued along the trail, I also spotted lizards, butterflies, and birds.
At the summit is a large Panamanian flag, together with a telecoms tower. And best of all, phenomenal views.
Looking down across the city and the ocean beyond, it becomes clear why Panama City attracts so much attention.
It sits at one of the most important strategic crossroads in the world. But it’s hemmed in by the ocean, the Canal, and protected mangroves—driving scarcity and making best-in-class addresses more valuable with each passing year.
Addresses like Santa Maria, where I went next…
Downtown Panama City as seen from Cerro Ancon. It’s worth the hike for the spectacular views you’ll enjoy and the chance to spot wildlife. Plus, it helps you understand the scarcity baked into this real estate market.
Santa Maria: A New District Taking Shape
Santa Maria is a 700-acre master-planned community about 15 minutes east of downtown Panama City.
Here, the 5-star Santa Maria hotel (where The Gathering XII was held) sits alongside a Jack Nicklaus golf course, and the Santa Maria Country Club.
You’ll find some of the most prestigious residential communities in Panama here.
Wide boulevards curve around green fairways, while modern residential towers rise above the landscape.
What struck me was the sense of space and calm. Everything felt neat, tidy, and carefully maintained. And the location is perfect. The airport, the modern commercial district of Costa del Este, and the main arteries of the city are all nearby.
As I went about the city, I began to appreciate the location of RETA member-only deals in Panama City. Ronan anticipated the city’s development and brought members the perfect real estate to play it. Best-in-class communities in the city’s most sought-after locations like Santa Maria—just what the wealthy executives, retirees, entrepreneurs, and international residents who have flocked here want.
In Santa Maria, I visited Ocean House, where, in September 2018, RETA members could buy two-bed, two-and-a-half-bath condos with exclusive pricing starting from $238,200. Today, one is listed for $410,000. That’s an uplift of $171,800.
It’s easy to see why this area has become one of the capital’s most desirable addresses.
Next, I visited another—even more prestigious—address…a place called Ocean Reef.
Santa Maria is home to an incredible golf course, an illustrious country club, and a 5-star luxury hotel, along with gourmet stores.
Islands Rising From the Sea
Just beyond Panama City’s gleaming financial district, near Punta Pacifica, lies one of the sights I was most eager to set foot on: two artificial islands that stretch out into the Pacific, connected to the mainland by a bridge.
These are the Ocean Reef Islands.
They were created by developer Alfredo Aleman, who envisioned an ultra-exclusive residential community. It must have sounded like a fantastical dream when he started talking about building islands in the bay, but he made it real.
Again, RETA members were ahead. Ronan brought RETA members incredible opportunities to buy here, already resulting in six-figure uplifts. At The Gathering XII, I spoke to a number of RETA members who seized the opportunity to lock down a property on the islands.
Ocean Reef feels like the kind of bold statement I expect to see in Dubai—not Panama.
But here it is, helping to change my view of Panama completely.
Seeing the islands gave me a real sense of the scale of ambition in this bustling capital. And made me appreciate more fully just how RETA members have secured footholds in Panama City’s most prestigious locations.
RETA photographer Noah Duethman took this shot of the man-made islands of Ocean Reef in Panama City. RETA members have seen six-figure uplifts here.
Ronan says: I’m not surprised Alan was dazzled by what he saw. That’s the impression Panama City leaves on many first-time visitors.
Since I first scouted Panama City 22 years ago, it’s emerged as a true world city. It now has one of the 25 biggest skylines in the world, larger than L.A. and Beijing. Its airport is the most important and best-connected in the region. Global corporations have flooded in, bringing executives, entrepreneurs, and international residents with them.
Panama is still early in what I believe will be a seven- or eight-decade transformation…
One that will see it emerge as a Singapore for the Americas.
RETA has been ahead of the transformation—with RETA members getting the opportunity to own in Santa Maria and Ocean Reef, two of the best neighborhoods in this global hub.
There’s also Playa Caracol—the nicest, closest beach to Panama City—and a place where I’m finalizing a new off-market deal exclusively for RETA members. More on Playa Caracol
