KINGSTON, Jamaica — Somewhere in Jamaica, a homeowner is already thinking about selling their property in 2027. Perhaps the children have grown and moved away. Perhaps retirement is approaching, an overseas opportunity is calling, or the family simply needs a different kind of home. For others, the decision is more complicated. Financial pressures, changing circumstances, rising maintenance costs and the…
Jamaica’s pandemic property boom opened doors for some buyers and created expensive commitments for others. Years later, the real measure of homeownership may be less about rising prices than the lives people can afford to lead.
Billions in insurance settlements, a deepening land ownership debate, expensive rebuilding decisions and an expanding north coast property market have exposed a difficult question: Is Jamaica building communities that ordinary Jamaicans can afford, maintain and call their own?
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica is building a new north coast. Thousands of homes are rising across St Mary, St Ann,…
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s property market is sending mixed signals. Buyers are gaining negotiating power in Kingston and St Andrew.…
From billion-dollar apartments overlooking Kingston Harbour to families being moved from vulnerable communities, a succession of housing announcements is exposing a deeper question about Jamaica’s future: Is the country simply building more properties, or creating places where ordinary Jamaicans can afford to belong?
Property Market
Backyard family graves carry deep meaning, but they can also complicate property sales, mortgages, rentals and neighbourhood appeal. Jamaica Homes examines the figures and the choices facing owners.
One in five Jamaicans lives in an informal settlement, and the state owns most of the land beneath them. An investigation into the world’s billion people without secure title, the numbers that never added up, and why Jamaica would need four decades to clear its title backlog at today’s pace.
Kingston was kept low by a 60 foot height cap after the 1907 earthquake and still has no building above 150 metres, while Panama City has more than 68. An investigation into who is building the capital upward, what a square foot costs, and whether the rules can keep pace.
US golf courses occupy land equal to four fifths of Jamaica, Hong Kong’s plan for 12,000 flats on one has been stopped in court, and Jamaica is moving to protect 128 acres of state leased fairway in Kingston as forest. An investigation into who owns the world’s golf land and what it is for.
Mortgages & Money
Jamaica’s banks may be resilient, but that does not mean every mortgaged household is secure. An examination of arrears, property recovery, interest rates and the human cost of mortgage distress.
RENTING
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Someone telephones a real estate agent. “I’m looking for somewhere to rent. My budget is J$40,000 a month. Can you help me?” It…
Diaspora & Migration
Britain promised to put right the wrongs done to the Windrush generation. Seven years after compensation began, about a third of decided claims have produced a payment, at least 66 claimants have died waiting, and the Home Office is still marking its own homework. A full accounting of what happened, what didn’t, and what could have been done better.