Nine months into the new PNP administration, Jamaica’s housing market is navigating the legacy of the JDX, ongoing IMF negotiations, and a debt-to-GDP ratio near 140 percent. This review examines what the change of government means for buyers, renters and developers in an economy with little fiscal room to manoeuvre.

Edition 166 surveys the opening of the Caribbean’s peak tourism season in autumn 2012, with CBI demand building across St Kitts, Dominica, and anticipation of Antigua’s imminent programme launch, while Trinidad & Tobago’s investment climate remains robust on strong energy revenues.

Six months into the PNP administration, Jamaica’s housing affordability crisis shows no sign of relief. The JDX legacy, stubbornly high mortgage rates and a swelling informal housing sector define a market caught between aspiration and arithmetic. This review asks who is still buying, who is building, and what needs to change.

Three months after the PNP’s decisive January 2012 election victory, Jamaica’s housing market assesses what the change of government means. High debt, tight credit and an ongoing IMF negotiation define the landscape — but a new administration brings a reset of expectations that may, over time, matter.

Two days after the PNP’s decisive election victory, Jamaica’s housing market takes stock of what has changed and what has not. High debt, elevated mortgage rates and an unresolved IMF negotiation define the landscape that the new Portia Simpson Miller administration inherits. The election is over. The housing crisis is not.

Bruce Golding’s resignation in September 2011 and Andrew Holness’s assumption of the prime ministership mark a political turning point — but Jamaica’s housing market turns on interest rates, not premierships. This review, the first in our quarterly series, examines the housing crisis that no change of government has yet resolved.

The Caribbean assesses post-Irene recovery and opens the 2011-12 tourism season, with Jamaica still led by PM Bruce Golding and T&T recording strong energy revenues.

Hurricane Irene strikes Puerto Rico and the Bahamas in August 2011, prompting Caribbean property owners and insurers to reassess coastal resilience and coverage.

The Caribbean enjoys strong peak summer 2011 performance while meteorologists track intensifying Atlantic storm activity, with multiple systems developing in the basin.

Eighteen months after the Jamaica Debt Exchange, the hoped-for improvement in commercial mortgage rates has been slow to arrive. This review examines what the JDX has and has not delivered for Jamaica’s housing market — and what the political turbulence of the Dudus year means for buyers and developers.