Paraguay’s Growth Story is Showing Up in the Job Market

Hey guys, Mikkel here.

I first started paying serious attention to Paraguay long before it was obvious that the country offered major upside. 

The fundamentals were there.

That’s what attracted me.

You could see the ingredients beginning to form if you were willing to look beyond the rough edges of a country that did not have the instant visual appeal, urban polish, or easy “sell” of a place like Medellín.  

A young population.

Low taxes.

Abundant energy production. 

Food and water independence.

A business-friendly environment.

Strategic positioning beside Brazil and Argentina.

A government that seemed to understand the importance of attracting capital instead of punishing it.

In the beginning, most people did not see what I saw. 

They would look at a place like Paraguay and think it is too small, too unfamiliar, too underdeveloped and too far outside of the investment conversation to be worthy of consideration.

Despite the positive underlying factors that make Paraguay attractive to people like us, many less-informed people compared Paraguay with more polished, fully priced markets and, in doing so, missed the point entirely. 

The opportunity in a market like Paraguay was never that it already looked like a finished product.

…it was that the direction of travel was already visible before the broader market had priced it in.

Over time, I have watched my thesis transition from potential… to proof. 

The macro story either begins showing up in the real economy… or it remains a nice idea on paper.

Companies either expand… or they do not.

Foreign capital arrives… or it doesn’t.

Jobs either get created to support the growth… or they do not.

Households either earn more money… or they do not.

Demand either begins forming on the ground… or it doesn’t.

I just read in The Asunción Times that Paraguay created more than 117,000 new jobs in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. 

More than 117,000 new jobs… in one quarter.

In a country the size of Paraguay, this IS NOT some throwaway labour-market statistic. 

When a smaller country adds jobs at that pace, the impact can be felt much more directly than in a massive, mature economy, where job creation is spread across dozens of states and countless cities.

This is why I do not even need to force a comparison with the United States or Canada here to help you understand the significance of this employment growth.  

Paraguay is a country of roughly 7 million people, so when it adds more than 117,000 jobs in a single quarter, you are looking at a meaningful expansion of the country’s working population.

You are looking at more people earning.

More people are participating in the formal economy, earning documented income rather than operating “under the table” and outside the system.

More people with income = more people with purchasing power = more people buying and renting homes.

…and for those of us who invest in real estate, that matters enormously as job creation has a direct correlation with rental demand.

Lasting demand is built when more people have jobs, more people have income, and more people need better places to live.

These new labour stats get even stronger when you look at where the employment growth is coming from: Paraguay’s secondary sector. 

According to the same article, Paraguay’s secondary sector, which includes manufacturing and construction, absorbed more than 76,000 additional workers in the first quarter, with manufacturing highlighted as a major contributor to the overall employment surge.

That matters.

…a lot.

Manufacturing and construction jobs are not meaningless paper gains (like in Canada, where it seems like half the “employment growth” is tied to government hiring).

Manufacturing and construction jobs are tied to production and physical expansion (like infrastructure and housing). 

They are tied to a kind of real-world economic activity that creates lasting second-order effects.

These are the kinds of jobs that create economic gravity.

They pull workers toward opportunity and pull companies toward corridors where other companies are already operating.

They pull capital into areas where the market is beginning to show enough density to justify new commercial and residential development, along with the surrounding infrastructure needed to accommodate more people moving into the region.

That is why these numbers matter.

Employment growth is the raw material on which rental demand is built. 

A new job can mean a young professional leaving their parents' home and looking for their first apartment.

A new job can mean a family moving closer to work.

A new job can mean a manager relocating from another city for a promotion. 

A new job can mean a worker upgrading to safer, newer, better-located housing.

….and 117,000 new jobs?

That means more restaurants, more gyms, more shops, more offices, more pharmacies, more services, more recreational centers and more everyday economic activity arriving to support the wave of new people who will be participating in the greater economy as a whole.  

This is why investors who understand emerging markets do not just look at buildings.

They look at the ecosystem forming around the buildings and ask questions:

Where are the jobs going?

Where are industries expanding?

Where is income rising?

Where is the market beginning to change before most people fully recognize what is happening?

These are the questions…

Ciudad del Este (CDE) is the answer.

CDE is one of Paraguay’s most important commercial engines.

It sits directly beside Brazil, and because of that proximity, Ciudad del Este has long been shaped by cross-border trade, logistics, commerce, and the constant daily movement of people between Paraguay and Brazil who come and go for business.

Historically, that is how Ciudad del Este has been defined. 

And that categorization was not wrong.

But the city is changing.

It is maturing, densifying, professionalizing, and it's becoming a more sophisticated economic corridor.

The new version of CDE is being built around trade, industry, logistics, formal employment, professional services, residential density, and a middle class that is beginning to demand better places to live.

…and with this evolution, the demand is no longer only for basic housing…

The demand start shift is in full swing toward secure, modern, well-located apartments that reflect the new tenant base being created (as the local economy becomes more sophisticated, the tenant base becomes more sophisticated too).

The rental demand being created here is not simply about putting a “nicer” roof over someone’s head…

…it’s about the evolution of the tenant.

When a city professionalizes, the housing market eventually has to professionalize with it.

People who earn more do not want the same outdated inventory that their parents may have accepted.

People working in manufacturing, logistics, management, professional services, commerce, and cross-border business want better locations, security, amenities, and design.

They want convenience, access, amenities and quality.

That is where the investment opportunity becomes very specific.

It is not enough to say Paraguay is growing.

It is not enough to say Ciudad del Este is important.

It is not enough to say jobs are being created.

What needs to be said is “the economic growth is happening right here, and the types of people involved in that growth will be demanding a certain housing product”. 

Simply put, you need to own the right product in the right corridor for the right tenant profile.

The demand being created by employment growth does not automatically flow into the existing inventory just because it exists.

…this is where many investors make a mistake.

They get caught staring at the entry price without spending enough time thinking about the person who will eventually live there.

But in a market where employment is rising, the tenant base is improving, and modern supply remains limited, the better question is not simply what the unit costs today; the better question is whether the property has the right location, security, amenities, convenience, and overall quality to attract the tenant you actually want.

Instead of being dead-set focused on price-points, well-informed investors ask: 

Who is going to want to live here?

Who is going to pay rent here?

Who is going to renew leases here?

Who is going to choose this building over competing inventory?

Who is going to value the building enough to make it a stable, long-term rental asset for investors like us?

Strong rental yield is created by tenant demand.

…and that brings me directly to the RISE project.

RISE is positioned directly in one of the most exciting growth corridors in Ciudad del Este (The 8th KM, as my partner Fernando has coined it over a decade ago when he first started breaking ground in this region).

The reason I like this project so much is not simply because the pricing is attractive (although it absolutely is)...

The reason I like it is that the building has been designed around the tenant profile this market is creating.

With a fully equipped gym, remote-work-ready co-working spaces, a rooftop pool, and communal gathering areas, RISE clearly differentiates itself in a way that is not cosmetic.

There is nothing of this standard currently available in Ciudad del Este.

Yes, there are well-built buildings that pull their weight from an aesthetic and functionality perspective, but there is nothing like RISE in the area.

RISE is a high-rise residential tower with a distinctive curved exterior and unique facade that will make it a landing spot for the city's “up and comers” who are working hard to earn more and want to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

To be frank, it looks more like a building you’d expect to see in a well-established Western European metropolis than what you’d traditionally expect to see in a Paraguayan city.

This emphasis on design, amenities, and quality is completely intentional and serves both investors and our future tenants in several ways. 

A building known for quality attracts tenants who value quality.

Those tenants are more likely to maintain units properly.

They are more likely to renew leases.

They are more likely to pay for convenience, security, lifestyle, and a modern building.

…and ultimately, they are more likely to provide investors with the consistent monthly rental revenue we are expecting.

When a building integrates residential, lifestyle, work, convenience, and community elements in a corridor where employment density is forming, it becomes the preferred address for the kind of tenant who wants something better than the standard local inventory.

That is the investment logic.

Not because amenities are “nice.”

But because amenities influence the tenant profile.

Tenant profile influences rent stability.

Rent stability influences investor returns.

And returns are what we care about.

Now, although there are still a handful of studio units available for sale inside the RISE project, only three 2-bedroom units remain across the entire project.

I want to spend a moment explaining why I think these final 2-bedroom units deserve your attention today.

In a market like Ciudad del Este, where employment is growing, trade is expanding, the professional class is strengthening, and demand for rentals is improving, 2-bedroom units are especially interesting because they serve a very reliable tenant profile.

A studio or one-bedroom is likely to appeal to a young professional, a single worker, a remote worker, or someone who wants a clean, modern, secure apartment close to opportunity, which is a great tenant profile, too, by the way. 

However, a 2-bedroom unit opens the door to a broader tenant base, and that offers flexibility. 

A small family.

A manager relocating for work.

A professional couple.

Two young professionals sharing rent.

A business owner who wants an extra room as a home office.

A higher-earning tenant who wants more space, more comfort, and a better long-term living arrangement will opt to shell out the additional cash to live in a place with more space and a second bedroom (sorry for the rocket science). 

The right 2-bedroom unit in the right building will attract a tenant who is more likely to stay, treat the unit well, pay for quality, and view the apartment as a real home rather than a short-term stop.

Since first introducing this project live to the Paraguay Potential and Expat Money communities this past February (2026), the 1 and 2-bedroom units have sold incredibly well… hence why there are only three of them remaining in the entire project (every 1-bedroom unit available is already sold out, by the way).  

Fernando, my trusted partner and the developer behind the RISE project, told me that members of the Paraguay Potential & Expat Money communities have secured north of 60% of the inventory already sold.

Let’s do the simple math.

RISE has 121 total units.

…only 28 remain.

That means 93 units have already been sold.

And if our community secured north of 60% of the units already sold, it means we are collectively responsible for roughly 55+ units sold within RISE.

…and that all happened since the end of February…

That is action.

What I found especially telling (but not at all surprising) is that many of our investors did not just buy one unit and call it a day; several investors, just like you, came in and bought multiple units because they understood the macro thesis behind Paraguay’s growth and understood the position that the RISE project will hold within CDE. 

They understood that in a market like this, taking a larger position while prices are still in the early cycle is a very intelligent move. 

If you are an investor who values taking a more meaningful position but does not want your exposure spread across four or five smaller units, these 2-bedrooms offer a clean alternative.

One title.

One larger unit.

One broader tenant profile.

One larger, more flexible rental product that allows you to target a broader tenant profile.

…and despite everything I’ve already told you about the project, you can still secure one of the remaining 2-bedroom units at a price that is absurd compared to what similar capital buys you in North America or Europe… or even most other parts of Latin America, for that matter.

All three of the remaining 2-bedroom, 2-bath units are priced under $120,000 USD.

*Please note that because the first two floors of the RISE project feature tower amenities and parking spaces, 2G is actually on the fourth floor, 3G is on the fifth floor, and 6D is on the 8th floor.

No matter the unit you choose to secure, you’re doing so for under $120,000 USD.

If I were you, I would keep an open mind and allow Fernando to walk you through your options ([email protected]).

$120,000 USD doesn’t go very far in most places of the world anymore.

Nowadays, it might cover a 15 or 20% down payment on an overpriced condo in a market where the upside has already been harvested by investors who got in 10 or 15 years ago. 

But here, in one of Paraguay’s most important commercial cities, inside a growth corridor benefiting from job creation, industrial expansion, cross-border trade, professionalization, middle-class growth, and increasing rental demand, that same amount of capital can secure you a fully titled 2-bedroom unit designed to cash flow consistently and appreciate constantly. 

For these final three 2-bedroom units, Fernando ([email protected]) is including a $2,000 appliance credit to help move the units closer to rental-ready condition from day one.

The point is simple: Fernando is helping you reduce the friction between ownership and rental readiness.

Just to be clear, there are still a handful of studio units (ranging from the low 50’s and up to the high 60s) available inside the RISE, and for many of you, those are extremely compelling options.

But today, the spotlight is on the final three 2-bedroom units.

At a certain point, I do not need to overcomplicate the logic here.

The market is moving.

The employment data is strengthening.

The tenant base is improving.

If you want one of them, I would not wait around.

Paraguay isn’t just “our little secret” anymore.

People are catching on, and when more of them realize the upside that awaits them in Ciudad del Este, what’s available today will be long gone.

…wait too long, and I assure you you’ll wish you'd taken 2 minutes to write to Fernando to learn more about the RISE project…

You can reach him at: [email protected] 

Groundbreaking is imminent (within the next month), and the fee schedule is favourable.
 
Write Fernando now while there is still inventory available and before the prices go up… as they always do as a project moves closer to completion.
[email protected] 

Speak soon,
Mikkel