THE National Housing Trust (NHT) will undertake 8,640 housing starts for fiscal year 2019/20, exceeding the total number of housing for the three-year period 2012-2015 combined.

The data was revealed by Finance Minister Nigel Clarke who opened the budget debate in Parliament on Thursday.

Toward this objective, NHT plans to spend $39.4 billion on housing activities for the budget year. Of the 8,640 housing starts, 4,714 are expected to be completed during the year.

As the NHT continues to pursue increased delivery of housing solutions, more Jamaicans are looking to secure their own piece of the rock.

According to the latest Survey of Business and Consumer Confidence, consumers have heightened expectations about their ability to purchase a home, a car, and take a vacation during period 2019/2020. The survey, which is an initiative of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, shows that a higher percentage of consumers indicated being likely to be able to afford all these benefits in the next 12 months.

Expectations of purchasing a car increased 7 per cent from 13 per cent, in the second quarter of 2018 to 30 per cent, during the period July to September 2018, while 2 per cent more consumers anticipated purchasing a home over the same period of 2018, up 9 per cent from 7 per cent.

In line with the heightened expectations in purchase plans, domestic interest rates are at levels never before seen in Jamaica, and at the core of the falling interest rate is the central bank policy rate which has been lowered four times this fiscal year to a record low of 1.5 per cent in February 2019.

“Market interest rates for individuals and businesses have never been lower. Many individuals and businesses are now able to access single-digit interest rates on Jamaican dollar loans, something that would have been deemed unattainable, unthinkable a few years ago,” Clarke said.

He added that these record low interest rates are allowing individuals and businesses to borrow to accomplish their goals and dreams.

According to BOJ data, loan growth is accelerating and stood at 24 per cent for the 12-month period ended September 2018, the highest in more than six years, while mortgage growth also hit a high of 19 per cent for the twelve-month period ended in June 2018.