Under construction
AWA by Living
Bella Vista, Panama City
from $188k to $443k
- Unit types
- 6
- Smallest unit
- 45 m²
- Bedrooms
- 1–3
- Status
- Under construction
- Area
- Bella Vista
AWA is the rare Panamanian pre-sale where you can watch the price move. The developer's own line-by-line list, current to 8 August 2026, prices the 63.97 m² River at $254,160 and the 65.55 m² Sea at $249,625. Broker pages still advertising the project quote $244,160 and $239,625 for the same two models. Both gaps are exactly $10,000. That is not listing drift or a negotiating margin, it is a uniform increase applied across the price list, and it tells you more about where this building is in its sales cycle than any brochure line.
The rest of the case is a small building doing a specific thing. 146 apartments over 22 residential floors on Calle 42 at Avenida Balboa, one block from the Cinta Costera and its bayfront cycle path, delivered fully equipped with white goods. The two-bedroom Sea and the three-bedroom Ocean are drawn as lock-offs, meaning one apartment that splits into two independently lettable units, which is what the developer's dynamic-rental pitch actually rests on. It carries EDGE certification, the IFC's green building standard, which is a genuine third-party mark rather than a marketing claim, though it certifies resource efficiency and says nothing about returns.
Where it gets interesting for a buyer is the price per square metre, which runs backwards from what most people expect. The 116 m² three-bedroom is the cheapest floor area in the building at $3,797 per m². A 45 m² one-bedroom is the dearest at up to $4,593. You pay a fifth more per square metre to buy small here.
AWA by Living prices and floor plans
| Unit | Beds | Baths | Size | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake — línea B, 1 rec / 1 ba | 1 | 1 | 45 m² | $188k |
| Lake — línea E, 1 rec / 1 ba, floors 3–24 | 1 | 1 | 45 m² | $191k |
| Lake — línea C, 1 rec / 1 ba, floors 3–24 | 1 | 1 | 46 m² | $192k |
| Sea — línea D, 2 rec / 2 ba lock-off, floors 3–24 | 2 | 2 | 66 m² | $250k |
| River — líneas A y G, 1 rec / 2 ba | 1 | 2 | 64 m² | $254k |
| Ocean — línea G, 3 rec / 3 ba lock-off, floors 21–24 | 3 | 3 | 116 m² | $441k |
Where AWA by Living actually is
AWA sits on Calle 42 at Avenida Balboa in Bella Vista, one block back from the Cinta Costera, the reclaimed bayfront park and cycle path that runs along Panama City's waterfront. That siting is the point of the building: the developer pitches it at people who use the Cinta Costera for running and cycling, and the amenity list follows the same idea.
Bella Vista is the corregimiento covering a large part of central Panama City, and agents use "Bella Vista" and "Marbella" interchangeably for blocks around here, so the same address can appear under either name. Our Bella Vista area page covers the district. Calle Uruguay, the city's main bar and club strip, is a short walk inland, which is worth knowing in both directions: it is convenient, and it is the reason some blocks in this area get loud after 11pm. AWA is not on the strip itself, but ask which way your line faces and visit at night before deciding.
The bay in front of the Cinta Costera has a documented contamination problem and is not swimmable. The water here is a view and a running route, not a beach. The airport run to Tocumen is roughly 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic, and Albrook for domestic flights is closer.
What’s included at AWA by Living
- Delivered fully equipped and turnkey
- White goods included
Who AWA by Living suits — and who it doesn’t
Buyers who want a central Panama City address at an entry price under $200,000, which is increasingly hard to find in a new building. The one-bedroom Lake lines start at $188,339 and the whole building is delivered fully equipped with white goods, so there is no fit-out cost between handover and occupation.
Investors interested in the lock-off layouts specifically. The 65.55 m² Sea and the 116.1 m² Ocean are drawn to split into two independently lettable units, which is optionality no conventional floor plan gives you, and it is the only reason to pay the premium those plans carry. It only pays off if short letting is permitted, which is the unresolved question below.
Buyers who value the Cinta Costera on their doorstep and will actually use it, since that is what the building is designed around. And anyone buying for floor area rather than ticket price, because the three-bedroom Ocean at $3,797 per m² is the best value per square metre in the building by a wide margin.
It suits buyers who want the cheapest headline number less well, since the small units carry the highest rate per square metre, and it suits anyone underwriting nightly-rental income poorly until the licence question is answered.
The prices you find online are roughly $10,000 too low, uniformly. Broker pages quote the River at $244,160 and the Sea at $239,625. The developer's list of 8 August 2026 has them at $254,160 and $249,625. Two different models, both exactly $10,000 apart, which points to a price rise applied across the sheet rather than to stale individual listings. Prices also climb with floor: the same line gains roughly $800 per level between the third floor and the twenty-fourth. Ask for a dated price list and check the date on it, then confirm the specific floor.
The rental case rests on a licence nobody has shown us. Bella Vista is inside the distrito de Panamá, where article 21 of Ley 80 de 2012 (Gaceta Oficial 27159-A, 8 November 2012) prohibits rentals under 45 days without tourist accommodation authorisation from the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá, with fines from $5,000 to $50,000 that also reach whoever advertises the listing. The developer pitches AWA for Airbnb-style dynamic rentals and broker pages advertise 8 to 12 percent annual returns. We found no ATP registration for this project and no published co-ownership rules permitting short letting.
That question matters more here than at most buildings, because the lock-off layouts are the premium product and a lock-off is close to pointless without short-stay letting. If the licence does not exist, the Sea and Ocean plans are simply expensive two and three-bedrooms. Ask for the authorisation number and the reglamento de copropiedad clause before you pay for the optionality.
The 8 to 12 percent return figure has no workings behind it. Nobody publishes the occupancy rate, nightly rate or cost assumptions that produce it, and no Panamanian institution publishes per-project occupancy data that would let anyone check. Treat it as marketing and rebuild it yourself.
Buying small costs you a fifth more per square metre. The 116.1 m² Ocean is $3,797 to $3,818 per m². The 45.38 m² Lake line runs to $4,593. That spread is normal in direction and wide in size. If your reason for buying the small unit is the ticket price rather than the use, you are paying a significant premium for floor area you are not getting.
The two-bedroom line has not sold at all. Line D, the 65.55 m² Sea, shows 22 of 22 units available. Meanwhile the whole 44.77 m² line F and the 116.1 m² line A are sold out. That is a clear signal about what buyers here actually want, and a two-bedroom owner will be competing against 21 identical unsold units held by the developer, who can discount in a way you cannot.
Delivery is June 2028 and no payment schedule appears on the developer's own list. Broker pages describe $2,000 to reserve, 10 percent at signing within a month, 20 percent across construction and 70 percent at delivery by bank finance or cash. That is a broker's account of the terms, not a developer document. Get it in writing.
No maintenance figure is published anywhere by the developer or by any broker we found. On a building with a pool, spa, rooftop, cinema, gym and pet spa shared across 146 apartments, ask for the projected reglamento budget rather than assuming it is modest.
Before you buy at AWA by Living
Prices, current to 8 August 2026. The developer's line-by-line list runs from $188,339 for a 44.77 m² one-bedroom on line B to $443,271 for a 116.1 m² three-bedroom on line G at the top of the building. In between: line E at 45.38 m² from $191,304, line C at 46.29 m² from $191,717, line D at 65.55 m² from $249,625, and lines A and G at 63.97 m² from $254,160. Prices rise with floor at roughly $800 a level from the third to the twenty-fourth.
Inventory, same date. 84 of 146 units available, 18 reserved and 44 sold. The whole 44.77 m² line F is sold out, as is the 116.1 m² line A. Line D, the 65.55 m² two-bedroom, is entirely untouched at 22 of 22 available. Prices are list, before any negotiation.
The best value in the building, on the numbers. Lowest entry is unit AW 04-B at $188,339. Best rate per square metre is the 116.1 m² line G on the twenty-first floor at $3,797 per m², against $4,593 at the top of the one-bedroom range. If you are optimising for floor area rather than for the smallest cheque, the three-bedrooms are materially better value and there are only four of them left.
Two documents decide whether the investment case is real. First, the ATP permiso de alojamiento público turístico, by number, verified with the authority rather than accepted from a brochure. Second, the reglamento de copropiedad, the registered co-ownership rules, confirming in its own text that short-stay letting is permitted and specifying what majority could later change that. This matters here more than usual because the lock-off layouts carry a price premium that only pays back through short letting.
Title. We have not verified title or pulled a finca number, the parcel's individual entry in the Registro Público, for this lot. Bella Vista is long-established titled land, but that is a district pattern rather than a fact about this parcel, and a pre-completion purchase is sold on a promesa de compraventa, a purchase promise, rather than a deed in any case. Your unit has no separate title until the building is finished and the horizontal property regime is registered. Our guide to titled land and Rights of Possession explains the distinction and the buying process guide walks the steps.
Ask for, in writing: the current dated price list including your specific floor; the payment schedule from the developer rather than from a broker page; the projected maintenance fee per square metre; the delivery date and the delay remedy; the construction permit and the plano; and the EDGE certification documentation if that is part of why you are buying, since EDGE certifies resource efficiency and is checkable.
Where to start. Tell us your budget, which floor and orientation you want, and whether you are buying to live in or to let, and we will send you what is actually available at AWA right now with the per-square-metre maths done, alongside the other central Panama City buildings at the same money. If the lock-off premium does not make sense for how you plan to use it, we will show you the plans that do.
FAQ
What does an apartment at AWA cost?
From the developer's line-by-line list, current to 8 August 2026:
- Lake, línea B, 44.77 m², 1 rec / 1 ba — from $188,339
- Lake, línea E, 45.38 m², 1 rec / 1 ba — from $191,304
- Lake, línea C, 46.29 m², 1 rec / 1 ba — from $191,717
- Sea, línea D, 65.55 m², 2 rec / 2 ba lock-off — from $249,625
- River, líneas A and G, 63.97 m², 1 rec / 2 ba — from $254,160
- Ocean, línea G, 116.1 m², 3 rec / 3 ba lock-off — from $440,823
The top of the list is $443,271. Prices climb roughly $800 per floor from level 3 to level 24, so the line alone does not give you the price. All units are delivered fully equipped with white goods.
Why are the prices I found online lower than these?
Because they are out of date, and by a consistent amount. Broker pages quote the River at $244,160 and the Sea at $239,625. The developer's current list has them at $254,160 and $249,625.
Both gaps are exactly $10,000. Two different models moving by the identical amount points to a uniform increase applied across the whole price sheet rather than to individual listings going stale at different times. In other words, this is not one agent being lazy, it is the entire public record sitting one price revision behind.
Ask for a dated price list, check the date printed on it, and confirm the floor, since the same line gains about $800 a level as you go up.
Can I rent an AWA apartment on Airbnb?
That is the unresolved question, and it matters more here than at most buildings. Bella Vista is inside the distrito de Panamá, where article 21 of Ley 80 de 2012 (Gaceta Oficial 27159-A, 8 November 2012) prohibits rentals under 45 days without tourist accommodation authorisation from the Autoridad de Turismo de Panamá. Fines run from $5,000 to $50,000 and reach whoever advertises the listing.
The developer pitches AWA for Airbnb-style dynamic rentals and broker pages advertise 8 to 12 percent annual returns. We found no ATP registration for this project and no published co-ownership rules permitting short letting.
The reason to press on this: the lock-off layouts are the premium product here, and a lock-off is close to pointless without short-stay letting. Get the authorisation number and the reglamento de copropiedad clause before you pay extra for that optionality.
What is a lock-off, and which AWA units have one?
A lock-off is one apartment designed to divide into two independently lettable units behind separate doors, so you can rent both, live in one and rent the other, or use the whole thing.
At AWA the 65.55 m² Sea (línea D) and the 116.1 m² Ocean (línea G) are drawn this way. The one-bedroom Lake lines and the 63.97 m² River are conventional.
The value of a lock-off is almost entirely tied to short-stay letting, so read the answer above first. If nightly letting turns out not to be permitted in this building, the Sea and Ocean are simply a two-bedroom and a three-bedroom, and you will have paid a premium for a door.
Which AWA units are the best value?
The three-bedrooms, clearly, if you are measuring by floor area. The 116.1 m² Ocean works out at $3,797 to $3,818 per square metre. The one-bedroom Lake lines run up to $4,593. That is roughly a fifth more per square metre to buy small.
Only four Ocean units remain on línea G, and the equivalent línea A is already sold out, which suggests other buyers reached the same conclusion.
The counter-argument is cash: $188,339 gets you into the building and $440,823 does not. If the ticket price is the constraint, the Lake lines are the answer and the premium per square metre is simply the cost of a smaller cheque.
How much is left at AWA?
84 of 146 units available as of 8 August 2026, with 18 reserved and 44 sold.
The pattern inside that number is more useful than the total. The whole 44.77 m² línea F is sold out, as is the 116.1 m² línea A. But línea D, the 65.55 m² two-bedroom Sea, is completely untouched at 22 of 22 available.
An entire line going unsold is worth understanding before you buy into it. It may be priced above its neighbours for the space, or the layout may not suit what buyers here want. Either way, a Sea owner reselling before completion competes against 21 identical units still held by the developer, who can discount in ways an individual cannot.
When will AWA be delivered, and what is the payment plan?
June 2028 on the estimates published by brokers. The developer's own price list does not carry a date, so get it written into the contract along with the remedy if it slips.
The payment terms described on broker pages are $2,000 to reserve, 10 percent at signing within a month, 20 percent across construction, and the remaining 70 percent at delivery through bank financing or cash. That is a broker's account rather than a developer document, and 30 percent before handover is in line with the market. Confirm it directly.
What does EDGE certification actually mean?
EDGE is a green building standard developed by the IFC, part of the World Bank Group, and it certifies measured reductions in energy use, water use and embodied energy in materials against a local baseline. Unlike most sustainability language in property marketing, it is a third-party certification you can ask to see documentation for.
What it means practically is somewhat lower utility bills and a building designed to use less water and power. What it does not mean is anything about rental returns, resale values or build quality generally. If it is part of why you are buying, ask for the certificate and the specific measures it was awarded against.
What are the maintenance fees at AWA?
Not published, by the developer or by any broker we found.
The building carries a beach-style pool, spa, rooftop, cinema and karaoke room, gym and pet spa, shared across 146 apartments. That is a substantial amenity load for a building of this size, and the per-unit cost of running it will not be trivial. Ask for the projected reglamento de copropiedad budget and the rate per square metre before you commit, and treat any launch estimate as a figure that tends to rise once the building is operating.
Is AWA titled property?
We have not verified it and have not pulled a finca number, the parcel's individual entry in the Registro Público, for this lot.
Bella Vista is long-established titled land, but that is a district pattern rather than a fact about this parcel. The project is also selling pre-completion, so what you hold until handover is a promesa de compraventa, a purchase promise, rather than a deed, and your unit has no separate title until the building is finished and its horizontal property regime is registered. Have an attorney confirm the parent finca and the developer's ownership of it before any deposit.
Is it AWA or Aqua?
AWA, with a W. This matters when you are searching or comparing quotes, because Aquapoint in Punta Paitilla is a different building by a different developer, and the two get confused constantly in email and in agent conversation.
If someone sends you an "Aqua" listing in response to an AWA enquiry, check the address before you compare anything. Calle 42 at Avenida Balboa in Bella Vista is AWA.