ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — The St Catherine branch of the National Housing Trust (NHT) hosted a Realtors’ Forum on March 16 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew, with a mandate to underwrite approximately 2,000 of 8,000 planned loans for the financial year (2017-2018).

The branch office brought together several players in the housing industry to share ideas on making home ownership more accessible to Jamaicans.

The forum, which was held under the theme “In Partnership for Home Ownership,” saw over 40 housing developers and realtors coming together to forge and strengthen alliances with the NHT, a news release stated.

Senior General Manager for Customer Relations Management at the NHT, Dr Lanie Oakley-Williams in addressing the forum, said this partnership was an important step in realising the Trust’s desire to continue to put housing in the hands of ordinary Jamaicans.

Branch Manager for the NHT’s St Catherine operations and conceptualiser of the forum, Janet Hartley Millwood further highlighted the importance of partnerships.

One of the forum’s objectives, as highlighted by Senior Loans Officer Nevine Thompson, was to bring greater awareness among realtors and developers to NHT’s products such as its recently revised policies to include widened income bands, low interest rates and deposit enablers such as the Home Grant and the Contribution Refund Towards Deposit (CRTD).

In attendance were representatives from housing developers and realtors such as West Indies Home Contractors (WIHCON), Gore Developments, Coldwell Banker, Millennium Properties, La Maison Properties and Remax.