5 photos from the developer
Under construction
Nogal
Costa del Este, Panama City
from $400k to $512k
- Unit types
- 2
- Smallest unit
- 100 m²
- Bedrooms
- 2
- Status
- Under construction
- Area
- Costa del Este
Empresas Bern began Nogal's structural phase on 16 September 2024, and its own site still listed the tower as under construction when we checked on 4 August 2026. Nogal holds no permit, no title position and no amenity that another Costa del Este tower cannot match. The amenity deck is the district standard, spread across two floors: pool, jacuzzi, spa, gym, cinema, games lounge, coworking space, jogging track, children's playground, event room and a covered bar terrace. What separates Nogal from the towers a buyer compares it against is that the developer has a finished portfolio you can go and look at. Bern's current residential slate is Nogal here, Aurum in preselling in the same district, and Colonia Real in Capira listed as ready for delivery. The same company built Pino Alto in Boquete and The Westin Residences at Playa Bonita, and it runs a hotel division. Bern states 48 years of operation on its own website.
That record carries a serious mark against it, and it concerns the building across the road. On 24 May 2024 an arbitral tribunal seated at the Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de Panamá ruled against Grupo Empresas Bern in a dispute with its partners in Town Center Costa del Este. La Prensa reported the award at $77.7 million in damages and costs. La Estrella de Panamá reported $82.6 million and published a breakdown putting $41.3 million on construction deficiencies and $19.8 million on deficient project administration. La Prensa also reported that the tribunal awarded the hotel site and its improvements entirely to the Town Center side, having found the hotel was built without shareholder authorisation. Bern rejects the award as legally unacceptable, alleges defects of nullity, and filed an annulment action with the Supreme Court in July 2024. The Sala Cuarta de Negocios Generales had still not resolved it as of August 2025, and in July 2026 Bern said the judicial process continues with no final decision. Bern also says the entities involved have no legal, administrative, financial or operational relationship to its current business units.
None of that has been finally decided, and none of it concerns Nogal directly. It concerns how the group ran a large Costa del Este project alongside partners, and construction quality is one of the headings in the award. So the case for Nogal is lower execution risk than a first-time developer offers, weighed against that record, and it is worth confirming which Bern entity signs your contract. On floor count and delivery date the public record is still a mess, and most of this page is about that.
Nogal prices and floor plans
| Unit | Beds | Baths | Size | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 rec — convertible to 3 | 2 | 2 | 100 m² | $400k |
| 2 rec — convertible to 3 | 2 | 3 | 131 m² | $512k |
Where Nogal actually is
Nogal is going up on Avenida La Rotonda, the ring road through Costa del Este's office core, not on the seafront boulevard. Empresas Bern's own site puts Town Center mall two minutes away, Pacífica Salud hospital four, Felipe Motta park five, and the surrounding corporate towers between one and ten. One agency listing describes the lot as facing Town Center directly. That same mall is the subject of the arbitration award against Empresas Bern described above, which is worth knowing when the developer uses proximity to it as a selling point. The walkability is the lot's real advantage and it is unusual in Panama City, which is also why Bern markets the building to multinational staff rather than to families or holidaymakers. The trade is that there is no bay frontage and no protected outlook. Nogal faces buildable land, and Costa del Este is in an active construction cycle, with Bioma, Aurum, Tagua and Generation Tower all under way in the same district. Ask which direction your specific unit faces and what is permitted on the lots in front of it. A rendering is not a covenant. For the district's title position, its car dependence and the contamination in the bay it fronts, see the Costa del Este area page.
What’s included at Nogal
- Jacuzzi
- Spa
- Events room
- Pool
- Coworking space
- Children's playground
- Jogging track
- Covered bar terrace
- Cinema
- Games lounge
- Gym
Who Nogal suits — and who it doesn’t
Long-term tenants and the investors who serve them. Bern's stated target is executives at the multinationals with offices in Costa del Este, and the product matches that brief: two-bedroom plans of 100, 121.4 and 130.9 m², two to three bathrooms, two parking spaces, walkable to the office core. If your plan is a corporate lease at market rent, this building was drawn for that tenant. It also suits buyers who weight developer track record heavily, and buyers who want a Costa del Este unit that is already vertical rather than one selling off a rendering. It suits families poorly. Every floor plan is a two-bedroom, and the larger plans convert by adding a den with a bathroom rather than a genuine third bedroom, which is a real constraint in a district sold on its international schools. It is also a weak fit for anyone who wants a bay view, beach access, or walkable street life after office hours.
Every price published for Nogal on a broker page is below what the developer is actually charging, including the recently dated ones. As of 3 July 2026 the developer's range is $400,000 to $512,000 across the 100 to 131 m² plans, roughly $3,908 to $4,000 per square metre. An earlier version of this page carried $350,846 to $453,648, built from agency listings on encuentra24 that carried visible update stamps of 13 July, 24 July and 4 August 2026 and agreed with each other tightly. They were still about 14 percent light. That is worth understanding before you negotiate: on this project a recent-looking update date on a listing is not evidence of a current price, because the agencies are republishing an old developer sheet rather than requoting. Ask which price list a quote comes from and what date is printed on it.
The developer's own track record on this building shows why. Nogal launched at $280,000 for the 100 m² plan and the last units before completion sold at $380,000. It is now $400,000. Anyone quoting you $309,000, or the $350,846 that three agencies agreed on, is quoting a number from a phase that has closed.
Delivery has moved forward, not back, and that is the opposite of what the page previously assumed. The developer now gives Q1 2027, which it describes as the nearest-term delivery in its portfolio. Broker guidance had drifted the other way: one page said 2026, Panama Equity and The Agency Panama estimated 2027, and the two most recently updated agency listings both said 2028. The structural phase began on 16 September 2024, so a Q1 2027 handover is roughly a 28-month build, which is plausible for a 43-storey tower but leaves little slack. Get the schedule in writing along with the delay remedy.
One broker page states that the 100 m² plan is sold out. Three agency listings updated within the past month were still quoting it. Check availability with the developer, not with a listing page.
We could not locate a public construction permit or a Registro Público filing tied to this lot. That is normal for a tower still in structure. It also means early buyers are relying on Bern's own paperwork rather than on a public record.
The developer is carrying an arbitration award against it for construction and administration failures on the mall across the road, under annulment appeal since July 2024, with Bern saying in July 2026 that the process was still running with no final decision.
Before you buy at Nogal
Start with the price, because most of what is published about it carries no date. Our range, $350,846 to $453,648, comes from agency listings on encuentra24 posted as developer sales and updated between 13 July and 4 August 2026: $350,846 on the 100 m² plan from three separate agencies, and $453,648 on the 130.9 m² plan from Lands of Panama. Figures above and below that band, running from $309,000 to $558,380, sit on pages with no visible update date. Empresas Bern publishes no price list at all, so ask for the current official one in writing and confirm whether the number you are given is a developer list price or an agent's asking price, because on this project those are not always the same.
Title status is unknown and we are not going to guess at it. Costa del Este is titled land, verified against the Registro Público by our reviewer, and finished towers in the district are held under the horizontal property regime, governed since 14 February 2022 by Ley 284. None of that has happened at Nogal yet. Until the PH is constituted and each unit receives its own finca number, which is its individual entry in the property register, you are buying a purchase promise, a promesa de compraventa, against a building under construction. We have not pulled the finca for this lot, and no public construction permit for it surfaced during this research.
The monthly condominium fee is one figure we can pin down. The Lands of Panama listing states $294.53 a month on a 131 m² unit and gives the rate as $2.25 per square metre per month, which reconciles with the $272 and $273 quoted elsewhere for the 121 m² plan. That is on the low side for a new Costa del Este tower carrying this amenity load, so ask for the projected reglamento de copropiedad budget, the registered co-ownership rules and their operating figures, rather than assuming a launch rate holds after handover.
Deposit and payment terms are not published anywhere we could find, including on Bern's own site. Ask for them in writing before any money moves.
The developer is Empresas Bern and the architect is Mallol & Mallol, both confirmed on Bern's own project page. Panamanian developers routinely contract through a company set up for a single project, and Bern has publicly said the entities involved in the Town Center arbitration have no legal, administrative, financial or operational relationship to its current business units. That makes the question of which entity signs your promesa a practical one rather than a formality. Have your attorney identify that entity, pull its Registro Público record, confirm what recourse you have against it if the building is late or defective, and check the construction permit and plano for the lot.
FAQ
What does an apartment at Nogal actually cost?
As of 3 July 2026 the developer's range is $400,000 to $512,000 across plans of 100 to 131 m², which is roughly $3,908 to $4,000 per square metre. The one and two-bedroom plans are convertible to three.
Every public listing we found is below that. An earlier version of this page carried $350,846 to $453,648, taken from encuentra24 agency listings that were updated on 13 July, 24 July and 4 August 2026 and agreed with one another closely. They were still roughly 14 percent under the developer. Other pages advertise anywhere from $309,000 to $558,380. Ask the developer for the current price list and check the date printed on it.
Why do Nogal's prices vary so much between websites, and why are they all low?
Because Empresas Bern publishes no price list, so brokers work from whatever sheet they were last sent, and a listing's "updated" stamp reflects when the agency touched the page rather than when it requoted the price.
That is the trap on this project specifically. Three separate agencies all showed $350,846 for the 100 m² plan with update dates inside the last month, which looks like corroboration and is really three copies of the same stale sheet. The developer's price for that plan is $400,000.
Prices at a Panamanian tower typically rise as construction advances, and Nogal is a clear example. It launched at $280,000 for the 100 m², sold its last pre-completion units at $380,000, and now lists at $400,000. The lowest number you find is the oldest, not the best deal.
When will Nogal be delivered?
Q1 2027, on the developer's current guidance, which describes it as the nearest-term delivery in the Bern portfolio. The structural phase began on 16 September 2024, so that is roughly a 28-month build for a 43-storey tower.
Broker estimates have drifted in the other direction and are worth ignoring: one page still says 2026, Panama Equity and The Agency Panama estimated 2027, and the two most recently updated agency listings, from 24 July and 4 August 2026, both said 2028. Get the developer's schedule in writing along with what happens if it slips.
How many floors does Nogal have?
43 storeys, of which 34 are apartment levels, at six apartments per floor. That works out at 204 units.
Public sources had this badly confused, quoting 40, 41 and 43 storeys and 32, 34 or 36 residential levels for the same building, which put the unit count anywhere between roughly 192 and 216. The six-per-floor figure was the one thing everyone agreed on, and it turns out to have been right.
What is the payment plan at Nogal?
Only 30 percent is required across the roughly three-year construction period: 15 percent at contract signing, then 10 percent and then 5 percent during construction, with the balance due at delivery. That is a lighter pre-delivery commitment than most Bern projects, several of which ask 40 percent.
The developer also offers an arrangement where a $300,000 deposit at signing earns 4 percent interest across the build. Have your attorney confirm what instrument that money actually sits in and who bears the risk if the developer runs into difficulty, rather than treating it as a bank deposit.
What will a Nogal apartment rent for?
The developer expects $2,300 to $2,500 a month, and says it holds executive-housing contracts with multinationals operating in the district. Against a $400,000 entry price that is a gross yield of roughly 6.9 to 7.5 percent before maintenance, vacancy, management and tax.
Those are the developer's own projections on a building that is not finished. What supports them is the district: Costa del Este houses the corporate headquarters the tenants come from, and Nogal is walkable to that office core, which is unusual in Panama City. What to check is whether the executive-housing contracts are commitments that transfer to individual owners or simply relationships the developer holds. Ask for that in writing.
Who is building Nogal, and what should I know about the developer?
Empresas Bern, with Mallol & Mallol as architects, both confirmed on Bern's own project page. Bern's current residential slate is Nogal, Aurum in preselling in the same district, and Colonia Real in Capira listed as ready for delivery. The same company built Pino Alto in Boquete and The Westin Residences at Playa Bonita, and it runs a hotel division. Bern states 48 years of operation on its own website.
It also lost an arbitration on 24 May 2024, before a tribunal seated at the Centro de Conciliación y Arbitraje de Panamá, brought by its partners in Town Center Costa del Este, the mall across from Nogal's lot. La Prensa reported the award at $77.7 million in damages and costs. La Estrella de Panamá reported $82.6 million and published a breakdown putting $41.3 million on construction deficiencies and $19.8 million on deficient project administration. La Prensa also reported that the tribunal awarded the hotel site and its improvements entirely to the Town Center side after finding the hotel had been built without shareholder authorisation.
Bern rejects the award as legally unacceptable, alleges defects of nullity, and filed an annulment action with the Supreme Court in July 2024. The Sala Cuarta de Negocios Generales had still not resolved it as of August 2025, and in July 2026 Bern said the judicial process continues with no final decision. Bern also says the entities involved have no legal, administrative, financial or operational relationship to its current business units. Nothing here has been finally decided and none of it concerns Nogal directly, but construction quality is one of the headings in the award, so weigh it and confirm which Bern entity signs your contract.
Is Nogal titled property?
Not yet, and we have not checked the finca. Costa del Este is titled land and finished towers here are held under the horizontal property regime, which since 14 February 2022 is Ley 284. Nogal is still under construction, so it is sold under a promesa de compraventa and individual unit titles do not exist until the PH is constituted at the Registro Público. We could not locate a public construction permit or registry filing for this lot. Have an attorney confirm both before any deposit.
Does Nogal have an ocean view?
No bay frontage. Nogal sits on Avenida La Rotonda in Costa del Este's office core, not on the seafront boulevard, and one agency listing describes the lot as facing Town Center. Higher floors will see over the district, but the outlook depends on what gets built on the lots around it, and Costa del Este is in an active construction cycle. Ask what your specific unit faces and what is permitted on the land in front of it.
What are the HOA fees at Nogal?
$2.25 per square metre per month, which the developer confirms and which reconciles with what brokers quote. The Lands of Panama listing states $294.53 a month on a 131 m² unit at exactly that rate, and the $272 to $273 figures quoted elsewhere for the 121 m² plan line up too.
That is on the low side for a new Costa del Este tower with this amenity load. Ask for the projected reglamento de copropiedad budget rather than assuming the launch rate survives handover.
Are Nogal, Tagua and Corotú built by the same developer?
No. All three are named after Panamanian trees, which invites the assumption, but they are three unrelated companies. Nogal is Empresas Bern. Tagua, also in Costa del Este, is by Valor Development. Corotú is not in Costa del Este at all: it sits in Urbanización Santa María, and its official site is operated by Ideal Living Corp. Same naming convention, different developers, different delivery risk. Compare them on the company behind each one, not on the theme.
Is the 100 m² floor plan still available at Nogal?
One broker page says it is sold out. Three agency listings on encuentra24, updated 13 July, 24 July and 4 August 2026, were all still quoting it, though at a price roughly 14 percent below the developer's current one. The developer's own material still prices the 100 m² plan at $400,000, which suggests it is available. We could not reconcile the sold-out claim from public sources. Ask the developer directly rather than trusting any listing page.
