Kingston, Jamaica — 18 March 2025
The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Kingston and St. Andrew has reached approximately US$950, with two-bedroom units averaging US$1,500 per month and three-bedroom homes commanding US$2,500 per month, according to residential market data compiled from Multiple Listing Service records in 2025. The figures represent a market that has moved well beyond the reach of the median Jamaican household: a one-bedroom apartment at US$950 per month costs approximately J$147,000 at current exchange rates — equivalent to nearly a full average salary for a formal sector worker. The rental affordability crisis is quietly worsening at the same time that the homeownership programme is expanding, creating a two-speed housing market in which those with NHT access can build equity while those without are paying increasingly unaffordable rents.
An analysis of 944 active residential rental listings on the MLS shows St. Andrew — which includes New Kingston, Liguanea, Constant Spring, Barbican, and the broader northern suburbs — accounting for 326 available properties, the single largest rental market in the country. St. Andrew’s dominance reflects its position as Jamaica’s primary employment centre and the destination parish for professionals, business managers, and upper-income households seeking proximity to the capital’s commercial core.
The Airbnb Pull and Long-Term Rental Supply
The structural pressure on Jamaica’s long-term rental market is compounded by the growing economic incentive to shift residential properties into the short-term rental market. With Airbnb and VRBO generating J$31.8 billion in gross earnings for Jamaican hosts in 2023, and with individual property yields on well-located short-term rentals significantly exceeding long-term rental income for the same property, the economics favour the Airbnb conversion. Landlords who can achieve US$200 per night on a Kingston apartment for 60 per cent of nights — a plausible performance for a quality Liguanea or New Kingston property — earn more than three times what the same apartment would generate on a long-term lease.
Industry analysis has noted that long-term tenants are becoming less attractive to landlords in Jamaica, with many property owners now opting for shorter contracts with monthly rents or switching to tourist accommodation entirely. Annual rental increases on existing long-term contracts are constrained by both market norms and tenant relationships, while asking rents for new tenants keep growing. The gap between what a sitting tenant pays and what a new tenant is asked to pay has widened, creating tension in the long-term rental market that historically more stable than it is now.
Gross Rental Yields and Investment Returns
Gross rental yields for residential properties in Jamaica averaged 6.39 per cent in 2025, according to Global Property Guide data — a slight decline from the 6.73 per cent reported in mid-2024 but still a competitive return relative to regional alternatives. The yield compression reflects property price appreciation outpacing rental income growth: as Jamaican residential property values have increased, particularly in the premium Kingston and north coast markets, gross yields have softened because rents have not risen at the same rate as prices. For investors focused on income rather than capital appreciation, yield compression at the premium end of the market suggests looking at secondary locations or purpose-built rental product rather than the established residential sub-markets.
“The rental market data tells a story that the homeownership data can obscure,” said Dean Jones, Managing Director of Jamaica Homes. “Jamaica is making progress on the ownership side — the NHT is building, the mortgage market is growing, more people are buying their first home. But for the third of the population that rents, the situation is getting harder. Rents are rising faster than wages, supply is being pulled toward Airbnb, and the formal rental market is undersupplied. Jamaica needs a policy conversation about the rental market that is as serious as the one we are having about homeownership.”
The St. Ann Rental Market
Jamaica Homes market analysis has identified St. Ann as a parish that rivals Kingston on rental asking price despite having a very different residential market character. St. Ann’s rental pricing reflects the dual demand structure of the parish: the tourism economy generates demand from hospitality workers and tourism industry professionals who need high-quality rental accommodation near the north coast resorts, while the diaspora and international resident market brings demand for villa-style properties with premium amenities. These two demand segments, operating at different price points, pull the St. Ann rental market upward in ways that are structurally different from the employment-driven rental demand that shapes Kingston’s market.
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