DR Market Pulse — September 7, 2026: Inflation Cools to 5.13%, the BCRD Holds at 5.25%, and Santo Domingo's Paraíso Overtakes Piantini as the Capital's Priciest Address

The Big Picture: Inflation Keeps Cooling, Growth Keeps Running Hot

The Central Bank (BCRD) reported on September 6 that annual inflation fell to 5.13% in August, down from 5.47% in July and 5.67% in June — the second consecutive monthly decline and a cumulative drop of 0.54 percentage points since June. Core inflation eased in step, from 4.96% to 4.76%, while the consumer price index itself moved just 0.38% during the month. The BCRD described the trend as a "gradual convergence" toward its 4% ± 1% target band, with inflation expectations still anchored near that goal.

The disinflation is happening against a backdrop of activity that keeps running above trend. The Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity (IMAE) grew 4.6% year-over-year in July, bringing cumulative growth for the first seven months of 2026 to 4.5%. Construction led the way with an 8.1% jump, followed by financial intermediation and insurance at 8.4%, free trade zones at 5.5%, and local manufacturing at 3.7%. Mining was the only major sector to contract during the month — a reminder that the same commodity-price swings pressuring inflation earlier in the year are now working in the opposite direction on the supply side.

Money & Rates: BCRD Holds at 5.25%, the Peso Takes a Breather

With inflation easing rather than accelerating, the Central Bank's Monetary Policy Board held its reference rate at 5.25% at its August 31 meeting, opting for continuity over any surprise move heading into the final third of the year. The decision keeps financing costs exactly where they have sat for essentially the whole of 2026 — a rare stretch of predictability for anyone underwriting a construction loan or a mortgage in pesos.

The currency side of the ledger is more mixed. After appreciating for most of 2026 — including the run past RD$58.07 seen in late August — the peso has pulled back slightly, with the BCRD's official reference rate closing September 7 at RD$58.66 (buy) / RD$59.24 (sell), compared with RD$58.55/58.92 just five days earlier on September 2. It's a modest move, not a reversal of the broader 2026 appreciation story, but worth flagging for anyone budgeting peso-denominated costs on a construction project or comparing financing quotes month to month.

Tourism: Asonahores Puts a Number on the Sector's True Footprint

The Dominican Hotel and Tourism Association (Asonahores) used its 38th Commercial Exhibition — held September 2–4 at BlueMall Punta Cana, with 323 occupied stands, more than 200 exhibiting companies, and over 5,000 registered visitors — to present a fuller picture of tourism's weight in the economy. Direct tourism activity accounted for 8.3% of GDP in 2025, but once indirect and induced effects are counted — the supply chain and the spending tied to tourism-linked jobs — that share nearly doubles to 15.9%, or $21.6 billion in total economic impact. The sector also drove RD$220 billion in purchases from Dominican suppliers across agriculture, manufacturing, construction, technology, and services during 2025, and supported an estimated 882,419 jobs — roughly one in six positions nationwide. The Central Bank separately reaffirmed its expectation that full-year 2026 tourism revenue will exceed $12.5 billion.

Development Watch: Santo Domingo's Price Map Gets Redrawn, and BHD Takes the Capital's Listings to New York

• Santo Domingo — A new report from the National Statistics Office (ONE), based on its Registry of Building Supply (ROE), shows the average apartment price across the Metropolitan Region rose 12.2% between the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, from RD$109,381 to RD$122,699 per square meter. Within the region, Santo Domingo de Guzmán — already the priciest municipality — climbed 11.8% to RD$148,445/m², while Santo Domingo Este rose a more modest 6.2% to RD$80,197/m².
• Santo Domingo (neighborhood-level) — At the neighborhood level, Paraíso has overtaken Piantini as the capital's most expensive address: Paraíso jumped from 14th place in late 2025 (RD$93,704/m²) to first in the first half of 2026 at RD$218,951/m², edging out Piantini's RD$210,026/m² — itself up from RD$172,377/m² six months earlier. La Esperilla (RD$159,288), Mirador Norte (RD$157,562), and Bella Vista (RD$153,006) round out the top tier; the National District holds nine of the ten priciest neighborhoods in the Metropolitan Region.
• Diaspora Channel — Banco BHD announced its fourth real estate fair for Dominicans living abroad, running September 11–13 at The Armory in New York City, with more than 25 Dominican developers and builders presenting projects "in different stages of development" across the country alongside on-site financing advisory. It follows similar BHD-sponsored fairs in Madrid and Zurich — a reminder that diaspora demand is being actively cultivated as a structured, recurring sales channel rather than left to word of mouth.

What This Means for You

Buyers: a rate held steady at 5.25% for essentially the whole year, paired with cooling inflation, is about as stable a financing backdrop as this cycle has offered — but the Santo Domingo price data is a signal that waiting on capital-city product, particularly in Paraíso-adjacent sectors, is starting to cost more than it used to. Investors: the widening gap between Paraíso and Piantini shows how quickly a single sector's fundamentals can shift a submarket's ranking in the space of two ONE reporting periods — worth revisiting comparable-sales assumptions on any Santo Domingo position more often than once a year. Sellers: Asonahores' 15.9%-of-GDP figure and the RD$220 billion in local tourism purchases underline how deep and how broadly tourism demand now runs through the economy — and BHD's third overseas fair in three cities is a concrete example of how that demand is being actively sourced from the diaspora, not just organic interest.

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*Meridian publishes this Market Pulse weekly. Explore verified listings across Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Santo Domingo, and Samaná at investwithmeridian.com.*