KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s housing crisis is entering a troubling new chapter. Across the country, ageing apartment blocks are deteriorating, household expenses are climbing, land ownership remains unresolved for thousands, and the cost of keeping a home is becoming almost as important as the price of acquiring one. It has been a revealing week for the property sector. The Government…
Jamaica’s housing market is producing an unusual contradiction in 2026. Mortgage lending is growing, demand for homes remains strong, diaspora…
Across the Caribbean, property markets are moving at very different speeds. Yet from Kingston to Bridgetown, Georgetown to Nassau, one problem increasingly unites buyers: the amount paid for a house is not necessarily what that house will ultimately cost.
A new national rental database will make landlords and properties easier to identify. Jamaica already requires rented premises to be registered, but the information remains far less visible.
Jamaica cannot persuade more homeowners to insure their properties while policyholders wait nearly a year for claims to be settled
Property Market
Montego Bay’s Mayor has named Brandon Hill, Leaders Avenue and a Retirement property suited to affordable housing as council sites open to private partnership, putting detail behind the municipal corporation’s J$450 million asset target. The approach could reshape how the city uses public land.
Another 139 St Elizabeth farmers and families have received land titles through the Pedro Plains project. The handover strengthens land tenure, although conflicting official totals still need clarification.
Cabinet has backed a US$56 million coastal protection proposal for the Palisadoes, safeguarding access to the airport and Port Royal. The next test is whether funding, designs and construction can turn approval into protection.
Certificates of Possession have been presented to 221 Tivoli Gardens residents, but registered ownership remains a further step. Another 29 occupancy audits and work on strata titles are outstanding.
Mortgages & Money
Mortgage payments are rising, household budgets are shrinking and the dream of owning a home is being pushed further out…
RENTING
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A Jamaican earning the national minimum wage of J$17,000 for a 40 hour week makes roughly J$73,700 a month before deductions. Put that…
