The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet Minister yesterday expressed hope that his Ministry’s agreement with Bahamian realtors would pave the way for “an explosive housing sector”, and ultimately help cut the 7,000-8,000 strong waiting list for affordable housing.

Kenred Dorsett said the Ministry of Housing’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bahamas Real Estate Association (BREA) was the first step in a public/private sector partnership intended to drive the Government housing programme forward.

The Minister of Housing said that apart from working together to provide more low and middle income housing, and help Bahamians increasingly realise their home ownership dreams, the two sides have also agreed to a ‘two-way’ strategy to increase the supply of affordable lots.

While BREA will help find serviced lots in approved subdivisions that are suitable for the development of low and middle income housing, it will also help market vacant lots in approved Government subdivisions in the Family Islands to qualified Bahamian buyers.

And Mr Dorsett effectively made a plea for more private developers to enter the ‘affordable’ housing market, pointing out that “the demand is there” as shown by the thousands of applications submitted to the Department of Housing.

Describing the MoU with BREA as “a win-win for all concerned”, the Minister hinted that the Ministry of Housing could supply the buyer demand if developers/contractors came up with the right product.

And, given the Government’s fiscal constraints, coupled with the well-publicised challenges at the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation, the traditional financier of the affordable housing programme, Mr Dorsett said his Ministry was also seeking to involve private sector financiers/lenders.

The likes of Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of the Bahamas International were already designated as approved lenders, and talks had been held with a wide range of financial services institutions.

“I think it bodes well for the opportunity to have an explosive housing sector, should we get all these moving parts to work in advancing it,” Mr Dorsett said.

The BREA MoU thus marks the beginning of the Government’s efforts, part forced upon it, to make its affordable housing programme more efficient and effective via integrating the private sector into the initiative.

“No man is an island. I think I have been very clear in my public pronouncements,” Mr Dorsett said. “I have indicated that if the Government is to make a significant dent in meeting the housing needs of the citizens of the Bahamas, there is no way the Government can do it on its own.

“The only way to successfully address it is through private/public co-operation.”

The talks between BREA and the Ministry of Housing initially stemmed from the latter’s concerns over the availability of residential lots that had both the necessary infrastructure (utilities) and were situated in approved subdivisions.

Mr Dorsett said the BREA MoU had “four main objectives”, the key one from the Government’s perspective being that the two will collaborate on providing affordable housing for Bahamians, utilising the latter’s market knowledge and contacts with its developer members.

Acknowledging that BREA and its members “know best how we can meet this objective”, Mr Dorsett said the MoU marked the first time the two sides had placed their dealings within a structured framework.

Turning to the deal’s other provisions, the Minister said the Government’s housing programme sought to increase supply by using BREA’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS) to locate serviced lots in approved subdivisions.

“There is no reason why we cannot put that into the mix to make them available, through the Department of Housing, to thousands of applicants at the Department,” Mr Dorsett said.

“In addition to that, we have a lot of inventory of lots in the Department of Housing, particularly in the Family Islands, that over the years has not been sold.

“Where those lots have not been sold, we hope to utilise BREA members to make the public aware of the inventory of lots available for purchase, particularly in the Family Islands.”

While unable to put a figure on how many unsold lots remain in Family Island-based government subdivisions, Mr Dorsett said there were “certainly; thousands, I’m sure”.

“I do know there are subdivisions, whether in South Andros, South Abaco, San Salvador, all over the Bahamas, where we have been sitting on inventory for years,” the Minister added.

“They were developed with infrastructure, and we thought locals would purchase those lots. They were certainly marketed to locals in those communities. For whatever reason, they were not bought.”

Such lots, Mr Dorsett said, represented second home opportunities for Bahamians, plus offered Family Islanders the possibility of returning home from Nassau.

He added that there were “in excess of 7,000-8,000” applications for housing at the Department of Housing the last time he received figures, and the Ministry was now trying to audit that list to determine the true outstanding figure.

Among the other key MOU terms is the agreement for the Ministry of Housing and BREA to examine the creation of partnerships with contractors and landowners, in a bid to increase the supply of affordable housing.

BREA will also help the Government find buildings suitable for housing its various departments and agencies, and assisting with either their purchase or rent.

“The Prime Minister has spoken about the Government ensuring most of its unoccupied buildings become occupied to prevent significant sums of money being spent on rent,” Mr Dorsett said.

Finally, BREA and the Government have agreed to organise a national conclave on the Bahamian real estate industry, bringing all sector participants together.

Mr Dorsett said this would allow BREA members to put forward recommendations and concerns over government policy, suggesting that the Planning and Subdivisions Act would be one focus, given the concerns it previously created in the real estate market.