NHT Redirected to Expedite Construction of Affordable Housing Solutions
By: , November 11, 2023
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), converses with new homeowners during Friday’s (November 11) ceremony for the handover of 60 keys for homes in Hummingbird Meadows and Monymusk Estate in Clarendon. The ceremony was held at Hummingbird Meadows.
Photo: Donald De La Haye
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (third right), celebrates the official opening of the Hummingbird Meadows housing scheme in Clarendon on Friday (November 10). Others (from left) are: Managing Director, National Housing Trust (NHT), Martin Miller; new homeowners, Lashaun Lofters, and his mother, Sandie Bryan; Member of Parliament, Clarendon South East and Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr.; and NHT Board member, Doran Dixon.The Full Story
The National Housing Trust (NHT) has been “redirected” to expedite the construction of affordable housing solutions in order to fill gaps in the market, Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has said.
Speaking during Friday’s (November 10) ceremony for the handover of 60 keys for houses in Hummingbird Meadows and Monymusk Estate in Clarendon, Mr. Holness said the low-income housing market has a deficit of over 100,000.
He said in order to address this issue, “we have to accelerate the building of these houses, even though we are building houses [at] twice the pace” of what was being undertaken.
“The policy of the Government to housing is to increase the pace at which we are building housing solutions for the market, in conjunction and partnership with the private sector,” the Prime Minister pointed out.
Mr. Holness emphasised that the units needed cannot be solely developed by the Government, noting that various initiatives are in place to have private developers build the houses and sell these to the NHT at agreed prices.
“We have redirected the NHT to focus on the segment of the [market] in which the private sector is not privately incentivised. We are also very interested in bringing the capabilities of the private sector into this segment of the market, but controlling the price,” he said.
The Hummingbird development comprises 556 houses developed in two phases, and 162 serviced lots.
The Monymusk scheme has 351 housing units, and over 100 serviced lots.
The majority of the beneficiaries in the Hummingbird development are females.
More than half of them are between 25 and 40 years, and earn between the minimum wage and $42,000 weekly.
This will allow them to pay zero or two per cent interest on their mortgages.
For Monymusk, 69 per cent of the beneficiaries are females, with 81 per cent between 25 and 40 years.
Fifty-seven per cent of the new homeowners earn between the minimum wage and $30,000 weekly, which will result in their paying zero per cent interest on their mortgages.
Friday’s handover ceremony was held at Hummingbird Meadows.