Mounting housing hurdles for young professionals
Published:Sunday | April 14, 2024 | 12:40 AMShanel Lemmie/Staff Reporter -
Almost daily, Jamaican young professionals on the ‘X’ platform, formerly known as Twitter, clamour for the ‘crash of the housing market’ in hopes of being able to afford their own homes.
Iqbal Cheverria, a junior attorney-at-law, is one of the bunch that has had his fair share of housing woes. He said he has been on the hunt for his own place for over four years with very little success.
He told The Gleaner, “The main issue is cost and location. Being an attorney puts me in a very tight position here. It would have been ideal to live in and around Kingston, but the rent prices being quoted in US dollars is not facilitative to a council who is two years at the bar.”
Cheverria said he is willing to spend up to $100,000 for rent, but even that is still not enough.
“At my price point the amenities are way below standard. Especially for someone who is in my profession where safety is definitely a concern that is valid. I cannot just up and go live in the middle of anywhere, based on the nature of the job. So that adds another layer of difficulty in my housing hunt.”
He continued, “I’ve rented, but it was just not working out. The difficulties that I speak about are not perceived, they are actual. I have actually rented within my price point and it just makes no sense. For one, I was commuting the same amount of distance as if I was living at home, and the amenities are just not up to par. So me just go back a mi yaad go stay with mi mother. That’s as good as it gets.”
Though prices for both buyers and renters locally are high, real estate agent Courtney-Ann Wallace said the situation may not be as dire as we think.
Speaking with The Gleaner, she said young professionals may need to consider options other than the ready-made high-rise apartments emblematic of an episode of Succession.
“Right now is relative because from we likkle bit we hear seh property appreciates. That is something that is never going to change,” said the Century 21 Heave-Ho Properties agent.
Noting that crime is one of the rare factors that causes property to devalue, she explained that the high demand for housing in Jamaica, contributes to the current high prices.
“For me, my phone is filled with persons trying to seek somewhere to rent or live, versus the number of persons that are actually selling or renting, it’s very small. So you’re gonna find that once demand exceeds the supply the price is going to go up.”
She continued, “In addition to that, there are other factors of real estate that the average person would not consider such as construction or installation of amenities. Some of these things are imported, some of these things are produced and maybe the cost of material to produce them has gone up. So just as how our food and petrol costs have gone up, inflation affects everybody right across the board.”
For one Kingston resident, while the process to find an apartment took nearly half a year, she is happy with what she was able to find. The former Manchester-resident who opted to remain anonymous said, she pays $45,000 for a studio apartment off Dunrobin Avenue in St Andrew.
“The only thing is I would love a larger space with better ventilation and some kitchen cabinets because I have a lot of things and they’re kind of just pack up in a box.”
While this tenant experienced relative luck in finding a place to live, the horror stories about the endless search for a new residence run rampant on social media.
Sharing her own experience, Wallace said, “It breaks my heart sometimes when persons call me and I can’t find them somewhere to rent or live and it’s not even the price range that is always the issue. It’s really just that we have 100 people wanting to rent and only 20 rentals on the market. So, landlords, if you’re listening please open up your homes.”
Attempting to provide alternate solutions, Wallace said, “One of the things I tell clients that are seeking to buy a home, especially young persons – because I am young too and obviously we all have goals – is to be as financially responsible as we can. Yes, we know when our parents were buying homes it was easy, homes were selling for what? $30,000, $60,000, I don’t know. But, now it’s a lot more competitive and to get a home, the best thing you can do is utilise the debt from the bank as best as you can. Some people don’t like to hear debt because they run from the terms loan and mortgage, but hug it up! Let it be your best friend because at the end of the day, [you can] put your money to work.”
She continued, “Another great option that a lot of people overlook is land. Start with land if you can and try to build. And when I say build, you don’t have to build the mansion at once, but you can build and progress. To me, with the current real estate market even in terms of the affordability of younger persons, I always urge them to consider land and also, if you can find an area where you see that maybe in ten years its gonna be a highly improved and built up area, invest in the land before.”
Also addressing the self-employed, which would include both influencers and entrepreneurs, Wallace said creating a paper trail is vital.
“I cannot tell you how many self employed people come to me and them have them dutty money,” she said pausing for emphasis, “they have the money, but their business is not registered, they don’t pay taxes. They have money in their house, they don’t have it in the bank and so legally on paper they aren’t making a dime. So when its time for them to even try to get the mortgage from the bank they don’t qualify because on paper they’re unemployed.”
For Cheverria, however, he is calling on the government to make a way.
“Government has to legislate against these developments, that’s the only thing that’s going to stop it. Because if inflation continues to affect the market along the line that it’s going today, nothing can realistically change without government legislating; or making affordable an actual priority that is not funded by private developers but is actually funded and subsidised by the government.”
He also suggested that NHT contributions can also apply to renters rather than only mortgagers.
“I am concerned about myself but I am more concerned about the future generation. If I can’t afford it and housing always appreciates, I’m wondering without active government legislation Jamaica is heading towards a housing crisis and something needs to be done.”