The Real Estate Development Board (REB) in Jamaica notes a continued increase in the number of schemes in planning and approved for development across the island.

Construction remains one of the strongest sectors under pandemic conditions, although gross earnings from the sector decreased to US$12.64 billion in the second quarter of 2021 from US$16.14 billion in the first quarter of 2021, this according to the Statistical Institute of Jamaica.

For the full year 2021, the REB shared with the Jamaica Observer that 92 building projects were approved, consisting of developments on 2,226 lots.

The number of housing units represented were 2,834. Overall there are eight more schemes in 2021 than the year before and 609 more units.

Room density in projects approved has also increased in 2021.

Comparatively, the year before, 84 development projects were approved, consisting of 1,853 lots and 2,255 units.

The REB said that there is one additional project pending for approval from 2021 applications; however, board meetings are usually not held in December.

Approvals relate to the January to November period of each year with the information provided broken down by number of schemes, total lots and total units.

As usual, most projects in each period were targeted at Kingston and St Andrew, although in 2021, the area saw a slight reduction in the total number of units planned.

In 2021, there were 52 developments approved on 71 lots for 1,013 units in Kingston and St Andrew.

For the development zone, while the number of projects shrank by one, the number of units increased by 57, with more units also spread over a smaller number of lots, implying that more high rises are under development.

Comparatively, in 2020, 53 projects were approved in Kingston and St Andrew for 14 lots for 1078 housing units.

St Catherine ranked second in the number of developments with 12 approved in 2020 and 10 securing a nod from the REB in 2021.

In St Catherine, density will apparently be less with 893 lots being used for 651 housing units from the plans approved in 2020.

From plans approved for the parish in 2021, 1,339 lots will be used to deliver 876 housing units.

Ranking third by the size of new projects approved is the parish of St Ann, where in 2020 seven projects were approved for 667 lots and 389 residential units. In 2021 four projects were approved for 272 lots and 479 residential units.

Other parishes outnumbered St Ann in approved developments but the schemes planned are smaller. St Elizabeth in 2021 saw five projects approved for 81 lots but units cited numbered only 10. No projects were apparently tendered for the parish in 2020.

Developers from Manchester received approvals for three projects in 2020, covering 32 lots and 12 units. In 2021 there were no approvals recorded.

After making no submissions or receiving no approvals in 2020, developers in Manchester secured seven approvals for 87 units on 62 lots.

Trelawny featured one development of 44 lots and 39 units approved in 2020 and another for 46 lots and 46 units approved in 2021.

In St Mary, in 2020 there were four approved projects covering 100 lots and offering 65 units. In 2021, one project was approved with no lots cited. However, units offered were ten.

In 2021, a developer secured approval for a project covering 142 lots and offering 83 housing solutions in Hanover.