President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Janet Silvera, addresses housing development stakeholders at the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) ‘Business of Real Estate’ Forum, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, on Thursday, October 24.
Scores of local real estate investors and other stakeholders in housing development attended the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO) ‘Business of Real Estate’ Forum, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James, on October 24.
The event, which was organised in partnership with JN Bank, highlighted investment opportunities for low- to middle-income housing solutions in western Jamaica.
Additionally, stakeholders discussed how to strategically plan to meet the growing demand for housing and the financial options that need to be made available to the benefit of Jamaicans in the lower-middle-income bracket.
Panellists from the National Housing Trust, Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce, JN Group, and Barnett Limited discussed topics such as Business Environment and the Opportunity for Real Estate; Qualifying the Demand for Housing and Opportunity and the Solutions.
Western Regional Manager at JAMPRO, Conrad Robinson, told JIS News that the information generated from the forum will help to streamline regulatory challenges that housing developers are facing, so that they can build more affordable housing solutions.
“The demand far outstrips what the supply is. So, it’s an opportunity for developers to get into that space where they can provide low- to middle-income housing for people who are working out of hotels and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector and all the other service organisations in and around western Jamaica,” Mr. Robinson said.
For her part, President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Janet Silvera, lauded JAMPRO for bringing together the housing investors, noting that Montego Bay has a strong demand for affordable housing.
She argued that with the city positioned as a destination for employment opportunities and investment, it is imperative that more houses be built and offered at an affordable cost.
“If you are aiming to improve our citizens’ standard of living and our country’s economic performance, affordable housing solutions must be part of the plan, and so I congratulate JAMPRO on this bold move trying to get investors to invest in an area, [which], I assure you, they will not regret,” Ms. Silvera said.
“Also, providing more affordable housing solutions for the residents of St. James has to be a major part of the strategy to tackle squatting in the parish and regularising these informal settlements,” she added.
