The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

MORE Bahamians would be homeowners today if the authorities had acted on a 1984 report by now-Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham advocating that houses by constructed on lots under 5,000 square feet, the Bahamas Real Estate Association's (BREA) newly-affirmed president said yesterday.

Unveiling the broad outlines of the agenda for his two-year term, Franon Wilson, who is also president of Arawak Homes, told Tribune Business there was much the Bahamas and real estate industry could do themselves to create a "rising tide that raises all ships".

Explaining that the sector did not have to rely on major foreign direct investment (FDI) projects to "save the day", Mr Wilson said himself and BREA would "work hand-in-hand" with government agencies and other private sector organisations to stimulate more real estate activity.

Describing market conditions as "challenging", the BREA president said he would also emphasise greater education for Bahamian realtors and the buying public, together with pushing for a reversal of the 2010-2011 Budget's Stamp Tax increases, in a bid to lift the sector - and the Bahamas - "out of recession".

Singling out relations with the Town Planning Committee as critical, Mr Wilson said this body - which approves all construction-related development - was vital to permitting the construction of homes on smaller lot sizes.

"They do allow some lots to be built smaller than 5,000 square feet in developments they deem ultra upscale, but they do not allow it for other areas," Mr Wilson told Tribune Business.

"Right now, the Town Planning Committee has the power to allow persons to build on lots smaller than 5,000 square feet. It's literally just a matter of reaching out, having dialogue and talking to people on Physical Planning.

"This is nothing new, but if that was in effect today, a lot more people would be in homes, which leads to more jobs as people have to build. You have more activity that has nothing to do with foreign direct investment. We have the power in the Bahamas to do things to raise the tide and get us out of recession."

Mr Wilson's father, Franklyn, who is also chairman of Arawak Homes, last month told Tribune Business that the developer had such applications before the Town Planning Committee, the strategy being to "design three bed, two bath homes, but construct two bed, one bath homes".

Explaining the rationale behind the concept, Franklyn Wilson said Arawak Homes wanted to construct homes that Bahamians, on their current incomes, could afford - hence the reduced lot and home sizes.

Yet its architects and engineers would provide the homeowners with designs for properties that were much bigger than the initial construction, giving them a blueprint to add extensions and more rooms when their incomes permitted.

Mr Wilson, like his father, again yesterday referred to the 1984 report produced by Mr Ingraham, in his then-capacity of minister of housing and National Insurance, which supported such a home construction strategy.

Essentially, what is being proposed by Arawak Homes would see Bahamians constructing and developing homes 'smarter', making them more affordable and in line with current incomes. Such a strategy would also help to conserve the finite, and ever-decreasing, amount of land left on New Providence for housing/real estate development.

Pointing out that BREA would work in a co-operative manner with agencies such as the Town Planning Committee to spur market growth, Mr Wilson told Tribune Business: "We have to work hand-in-hand.

"Everyone should have the same goal for more activity. A rising tide raises all ships. Our goal is to raise the tide. The current state of the industry is challenging, but there are things that can be done that do not rely strongly on foreign direct investment, and which we feel can lead to more real estate activity.

"We cannot simply wait for the big foreign direct investment projects to come to save the day. We have to look to things we can do internally in the Bahamas to spur activity throughout the country, not just in Nassau."

Mr Wilson pointed to the link-up with US-based website, Realtor.com, which will now feature all New Providence and Family Island listings on BREA's Multiple Listings Service (MLS) to an audience of about three million hits per day.

For Bahamian realtors who lacked the ability to develop their own on-line presence, Mr Wilson said this was "a means to showcase their listings to the world. That's BREA doing its point to prime the tide. If we can get even a smaller percentage of that just looking at the Bahamas, that's what it's all about".

Noting that BREA has between 600-700 members, Mr Wilson said the development model in the Bahamas had not changed since E. P. Taylor arrived on this island and developed Lyford Cay. It had always been to acquire the real estate, develop a hotel and then develop the real estate around it, a model subsequently emulated by the likes of Kerzner International and now Baha Mar.

BREA also planned to emphasise further education for its members and the buying public. Mr Wilson said the organisation's Continuing Education Programme, launched in January 2012, would be further rolled out over his two-year tenure.

"We can't talk about transactions in the real estate sector without educating the public, so we're going to work with the banks to help deal with the challenges people are facing across the board, so that others can learn from it and avoid the same challenges," the BREA president said.