Positive Feedback to Expanded National Housing Trust Benefits

The Government’s recent decision to raise the National Housing Trust (NHT) loan ceiling and lower interest rates has been met with widespread public approval, signalling strong support for the initiative.

This decisive action—including expanded home grants, reduced service charges, and lower deposit requirements—is being widely praised for its tangible impact.

These reforms are opening the door for thousands of Jamaicans who were previously excluded from the housing market, enabling access to affordable financing, a pathway to homeownership, and the opportunity to build generational wealth.

By expanding access to housing, the initiative not only enhances individual financial resilience, but also advances key national development objectives, including economic empowerment, social cohesion, and long-term stability.

Under the revised policy, low-income earners may now access interest rates as low as zero per cent, while other contributors will pay between two per cent and five per cent, depending on their income band. The individual loan ceiling has been raised to $9 million, with up to $23 million available for three co-applicants.

Additionally, the policy also broadens support for home improvement, construction on privately owned land, and renewable energy upgrades—all offered at subsidised interest rates.

These policy revisions were announced by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during his 2025/26 Budget Debate presentation in the House of Representatives in March.

Notably, several measures took effect on June 16, 2025—two weeks ahead of the originally scheduled July 1 implementation date.

Property Manager, K. Wilson, describes the Government’s housing reforms as a significant advancement for Jamaicans working toward homeownership.

“This is a game-changer, especially for first time buyers and single income households, offering more affordable financing at a time when home prices have risen sharply. More Jamaicans now have a real shot at owning a home, provided the housing market can keep pace,” he states.

Mr. Wilson adds that the move by the Government is not only timely, but also transformative.

“This is a bold step toward bridging the affordability gap and making home ownership a reality for more Jamaicans. By tying interest rates to income and raising loan limits, the NHT is empowering thousands of Jamaicans who were previously locked out of the housing market. The key now is to ensure that affordable housing supply expands alongside this new demand,” he maintains.

Accounting Officer, Sandria Walker, says more persons will be able to benefit from the new policies being implemented through the Trust.

“The decision that the Government has taken… I believe, [is] a good move. Previously, the limits were seemingly a little bit low because you know the houses on the open market especially are a little pricey. It’s giving access to a lot of persons who would not have been able to afford a home by themselves, because with the previous loan amounts, you would probably have to partner with somebody or three persons, because they had introduced that option. So I think it gives rise to more people being able to own homes with the increased limit,” she tells JIS News.

Ms. Walker further noted that the move will also benefit young persons and low-income earners.

“Many young people [are now able to] buy or build homes with the new limits, especially the build on own land limit. I think that is very good, $11 million, that’s a good amount of money to build a home; so I think it’s a very good decision, more people will be able to benefit.

“I think one of the options for persons who earn a certain amount monthly or weekly [is] they would be able to access home grants and they have increased that as well. So, I think the options for persons to own homes have increased significantly and I know a lot of persons will take advantage of this,” she says.

Operations Manager, Jermaine Morgan, notes that the new policies will enable more persons to access financing at affordable interest rates which is crucial for home ownership.

“The Government’s decision to increase the loan ceiling from $7.5 million to $9 million, I think, is definitely a step in the right direction. Having previously benefited from their initial increase, from $6.5 million to $7.5 million which was in 2023, I believe… it made a big difference in my mortgage payments. I went [to the] open market, so I would have actually had to do part through

NHT and part through the bank, and the bank interest rate is crazy. So having access to more money from the NHT at that low interest rate, I think is a great benefit to persons of a low to medium income bracket; so that is definitely a great step,” he tells JIS News.

Mr. Morgan, however, highlighted what he cites as an apparent trend where once there is an increase in the loan ceiling from NHT, the prices of the houses also increase.

This, he says, will continue to hinder individuals from being able to purchase their homes.

“I definitely think that there is some room for greater restrictions or something that the Government needs to do to kind of restrict some of these things, because if that happens, it is not really going to be a benefit to persons. The cost of the house is just going to keep going up and, again, there is the fact that most persons won’t have access to the upfront 10 per cent down payment that they need to even purchase the house if they choose to go open market,” he says.

Mr. Morgan nonetheless believes the policy changes are a step in the right direction for persons to have access to more money through the NHT, “seeing that if you go joint now that is [$17 million].”

“I think the average new house now is $22/$23 million. So through the bank they maybe need [at least] another [$5 million]. So it’s definitely good,” he says.
Effective June 16, 2025, the NHT increase the individual loan limit for open market purchases to $9 million. Two co-applicants may access up to $17 million, and three co-applicants up to $23 million. For units being sold at $14 million or less, a new special loan limit of $12 million will be available to single applicants making such purchases.

In addition, the loan limit for build-on-own-land loans will also increase to $11 million for single applicants, $17 million for two-co applicants and $23 million for three co-applicants.

Individuals purchasing land on the open market will also have access to more financing. The house lot loan limit increases to $5 million, $7 million and $10.5 million for single, two and three co-applicants respectively.

Additionally, the NHT homeowners loan for existing mortgagors and homeowners, increases from $3.5 million to $5 million, where two-co-applicants will be able to access up to $10 million.

Additionally, the waiting period to access a second loan benefit from the NHT for home improvement purposes, will be reduced from 10 years to 7 years.

Furthermore, as at July 1, 2025, the SMART Energy loan limit, first introduced in 2024, increased from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. Additionally, the applicable interest rate will now range from zero per cent to five per cent, based on the borrower’s income, rather than the previous standard rate of five per cent.

Additionally, the NHT is offering a reduction in its service charge for new mortgagors effective July 1, 2025.

Other policy changes announced that came into effect July 1 include: an expanded use of the NHT Home Grant which will now allow mortgagors with unfinished properties for a period of two years or more, to access additional funding to complete the units; reductions in service charges; and lower deposit requirements.

These measures are expected to improve the affordability of contributors making purchases on the open market as well as contributors engaged in construction.

Contributors can generate new eligibility letters and access more information by visiting the NHT’s website www.nht.gov.jm or email the NHT at wecare@nht.gov.jm.