Dear Editor,

Jamaicans have been hoodwinked into believing that owning a house in Jamaica has been made easier. One would think that the government’s effort through the NHT to increase the allocation of funding to $9m (for two people) that more persons can buy houses, only to find out that the price for houses instantly goes up and the basic units are selling for the very same $9m.

It would seem that the increase was given to the housing developers and not to prospective homeowners. The cost for cement has remained relatively stable as a result of recent competition in the cement trade. The price for steel has recovered and remained stable over the last two years. The cost of manual work site labour has been stable, as we all know that the developers are paying the site work men just a little above minimum wage.

The Jamaican dollar has moved $1.50 in two years, but yet the cost for housing has gone up 30 to 40 per cent in two years. A house which used to cost $6.6m is now costing $8.5m. Salaries have not gone up for public sector workers in over two years. So please enlighten me as whom the housing developers are targeting as prospective homeowners. What boggles my mind is that the government seems to have no qualms in offering increases in NHT benefits/allocations, but offer no control on the prices these developers are charging the people. Maybe it is because it sounds good to say “it was under my administration” that NHT benefits have increased.

There does not seem to be any measured standard that quantity surveyors use to value property these days. It seems that the price placed on these properties is subjective to the surveyor carrying out the survey at the time. No two surveyors give the same or similar price for any property.

It is hard to score a home when the developers are constantly moving the goal post. The minister of housing needs to regulate the pricing methods these contractors (developers) use to price these houses. Then again, why am I expecting better when I know that doing so will be political suicide. The government has not yet considered that regulating the cost for housing and ensuring that the price for the units are commensurate to their actual value, and not price-gouging the Jamaican people is important.

The government does not consider that regulating the cost for housing may score political points, when they should know that freezing the public sector wage bill and regulating the cost for housing go hand-in-hand. The government has also not considered that regulating the cost for housing will reduce white-collar crime. When faced with the high cost of living, including high mortgages, desperate situations may call for desperate measures.

Jamaicans need someone to protect them from unscrupulous housing developers. I do not expect a change for the good. But I have been wrong before. Being wrong on this matter would be a welcome delight.

Don Giovani

don.giovani@hotmail.com