Panama rental yields in 2026: the published figures, and what comes off them.

What is the average rental yield in Panama?

Global Property Guide puts Panama's average gross rental yield at 6.94% for Q2 2026, down from 7.03% in Q4 2025. The figures are gross, built from asking prices and asking rents, and the same source says net is typically 1.5 to 2 points lower. These are that source's figures, not a Brinkman Data calculation.

A gross yield is rent before any cost. The costs that come off it are listed further down this page.

What are rental yields in Panama City, Panamá Oeste and Coclé?

Per Global Property Guide's Q2 2026 data, the average gross rental yield is 7.57% in Panama City, 6.80% in Panamá Oeste and 6.45% in Coclé. All three are gross figures from asking prices and asking rents, and they are area averages that hide a wide spread between neighbourhoods and unit sizes.

Why does the Panama City average mislead?

Because the spread inside the city is wider than the gap between regions. In the same Global Property Guide data, Bella Vista studios and one-bedrooms show 9.53% gross, while Santa Maria two-bedrooms show 6.07%, and units with four or more bedrooms generally sit between 5.6% and 6.5%.

The question that matters is never the city. It is the building, the unit size and the rent it can actually get.

What comes off a gross rental yield in Panama?

Property tax, the condo fee, running costs, and income tax on the rent. Property tax runs on the cadastral value on a progressive scale, and a condo with an improvements exemption pays 1% a year on the land value only. Rent is Panama-source income, taxable for non-residents.

• Deductions: municipal and national taxes, maintenance and repairs, administration costs and depreciation can be deducted from gross rent, according to Global Property Guide.
• Condo fees: a citable norm for Panamanian condo association fees was not found for this page. Ask the building for its current fee and its arrears position.
• Tax on rent: progressive rates, and the collection mechanism for non-residents differs between sources. Detail: Panama property tax for foreigners.

Can a foreign owner run a short-term rental in Panama City?

Not under 45 days without authorisation. Law 80 of 2012, the tourism law, prohibits leases shorter than 45 days in the District of Panama unless the property holds authorisation as public tourist lodging, according to Sucre Arias & Reyes. The restriction is limited to the District of Panama.

• Fines: the tourism authority (ATP) can fine B/.5,000 to B/.50,000, including for advertising such rentals.
• The legal route: Executive Decree 82 of 2008 allows a tourism horizontal-property regime, in which owners place units with an authorised hotel operator.
• Tax on lodging: lodging services carry ITBMS at 10%. The obligation to charge it starts once annual billing exceeds B/.36,000.
• Pending change: Bill 31-26, presented to the National Assembly on 14 September 2026, proposes a 15% ITBMS on short-term tourist rentals in residential properties, collected by the platforms. It needs three debates and was not law as of September 2026, according to Destino Panamá.

Model a Panama City unit on a long-term let unless it sits in an authorised regime.

How protected are tenants in Panama?

Rent control applies only to older rent-controlled housing. Otherwise landlords have broad contractual freedom, with tenant protections that can delay evictions, according to Global Property Guide. Write the lease with the end date and the exit you want from day one.

The overview for buyers: buying property in Panama as a foreigner.

Header photo: Dr. Thomas Liptak, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.