ROSE HALL, St James — National Housing Trust (NHT) has revealed that less than half the country’s working population are contributors to the Trust, and almost half of those individuals are earning close to the minimum wage.

For the third quarter ending December 2023 the number of people employed stood at 1,320,400.

“Just about 500,000 actually contribute to the NHT, so we can’t fill [the needs of] half of the people who are working people in Jamaica because they don’t contribute to the NHT,” said assistant general manager for corporate communications and public affairs at the NHT, Dwayne Berbick.

“Of that 500,000, [a total of] 47.6 per cent earn less than $30,000 per week — and that is post-adjustments as it relates to the compensation review,” he added.

Berbick was taking part in a panel discussion at International Real Estate Conference at Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James last Thursday.

The theme of the discussion was, ‘The impact of affordable housing solutions on national development’.

He argued that affordable housing is not just a price on the construction side but must take into account mortgage financing options on the financing side.

While some people have suggested that NHT should do more, Berbick noted that one must first be a contributor.

On the mortgage distribution side there are 160,000 mortgages on the trust’s portfolio which do not include joint financing that is registered on partnering institutions’ books, 44 per cent of the benefits from NHT go towards that zero per cent income band — minimum wage and 30,000 per week.

“How are we able to do that? Through financing arrangements, grants and subsidiaries that bridge the divide between where people’s incomes are and where the pricing of houses is,” stated Berbick.

He said more housing supplies are needed. The Government currently has a target of 70,000. NHT is currently looking at 15,000 housing starts this year.

While banks are providing mortgage financing at between 6.5 per cent and 8.5 per cent interest rate, NHT is at zero per cent for most.

Berbick said this is an indicator that mortgage financing is not the problem. He said more partnerships are needed with developers to fill the affordable housing demand.

“The need now in the housing market is one of supply — and not just supply, but supply in the affordable housing market sector. And, I will join [the general manager of Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB)] Courtney [Wynter] in saying: ‘Developers, we have our banks already on board with us on the financing side so we are looking for developers who are willing to partner with us to come into the affordable housing market, to see if we can make a significant dent in that 15,000 per year,’ ” said the NHT representative.

He noted that while the trust is doing a lot, more is still needed.

With a continued focus on affordable housing, JMB’s Wynter emphasised during the panel discussion that developers can also provide low-income housing and still be profitable.

“What we are saying to interested developers is that: ‘You can earn over 21 per cent if you do a construction project currently.’ Now, we know that anything that is built on the low-income side is sold, like, immediately,” stated Wynter.

He said houses closer to urban centres are in demand.

Wynter is encouraging developers to invest in a project from which they can get their 17 or 21 per cent and move on to another.

“We are seeing developers doing it. In [Green Island,] Hanover, Selective Homes’ 550-square-feet or 600-square-feet start-up homes are going for $7 million to $8 million on phase after phase. Those are sold out the moment they are announced,” he pointed out.

Wynter noted that a part of the problem is that there are not enough developers focusing on developing rural areas.

For her part, managing director of Housing Agency of Jamaica, Doreen Prendergast encouraged developers to ensure that affordable housing solutions are not overpriced.

“I do believe that as developers there is a place for persons to contribute to the development of their own country in which they live because guess what? When you build your apartments or bungalows at exorbitant prices, majority of people can’t afford these solutions,” argued Prendergast.

She noted that this could add to social ills where people will then squat beside the developments, which leads to property devaluation.

Additionally, co-moderator of the panel discussion Roger Allen, who is also the second vice-president of Realtors Association of Jamaica (RAJ), is also concerned that several people — including those in the Diaspora — are purchasing several houses at once, leaving those in need with nothing. He pointed to the importance of having a mechanism for screening people.

“[This person] is buying a $15-million property but she already owns three properties. Why isn’t it that somebody who really needs a property is getting it? We have a number of persons in the Diaspora who are doing that,” stated Allen, to which Prendergast said her agency has a first-time homeowner’s policy, even though at times people may outsmart the system. NHT has a similar policy in place.