The Tribune

Mortgage financing access remains "the biggest hurdle" to reviving the domestic real estate market, causing up to three deals for the same property to fall through.

Mike Lightbourn, Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty's president, told Tribune Business that some lender decisions to turn down mortgage applications were simply "outrageous".

"One of the real estate companies had a home that was sold three times, but the sale fell through each time because the purchaser could not get financing," he said, declining to name the realtor involved.

Recalling another case that impacted his firm, Mr Lightbourn added: "You had the bank instructing the lawyer to prepare the actual documents and check the title.

"They did that. On the day of the closing, the bank reneged and said: 'We can't finance this at this time'."

Mr Lightbourn said such cases showed why the domestic real estate market continued to struggle, with the inability of purchasers to obtain mortgage financing from commercial banks and other lenders acting as the main obstacle to its recovery.

"It makes it very difficult," he added of the financing issues. "Ninety per cent or more of purchasers need some sort of bank mortgage.

"I'm not the banker who makes the decisions, but some of them are just outrageous. Buyers have the ability, they have the collateral, but can't get the financing for unknown reasons. The banks don't have to give a reason."

Mr Lightbourn said the rejection of borrowers who seemed to qualify for mortgage financing was "a frequent occurrence in our market".

Arguing that the issue was getting "worse", he added: "The thing is our banks have money to lend. The problem is that they've been burned so badly in the past, no one wants to get blamed for making a bad loan, but not every loan will turn out to be good."

Revitalising the domestic, Bahamian segment of the real estate market is key to turning this nation's economic fortunes around, given that so many industries and professions depend on it.

The real estate, construction and legal professions all prosper when the Bahamian housing market is growing, as do industries such as furniture and housewares retailing and landscaping.

It is a major job creation source, yet remains weighed down by the $614 million worth of mortgages that were in arrears at end-May 2016. Of that sum, some $455 million was non-performing, meaning it is 90 days or more past due.

As a result, Bahamas-based commercial banks are reluctant to extend mortgage loans beyond borrowers who they deem 'delinquency proof'.

This is despite the huge pool of funds available for lending, with excess liquid assets in the Bahamian commercial banking system standing at near-$1.5 billion at end-May 2016, having risen by $165.49 million year-to-date.

Ryan Knowles, the HG Christie Ltd realtor hired to market Tennyson Wells' Lyford Hills development, told Tribune Business that the Bahamas needed to "lower the bar" so more persons could qualify for mortgages and home ownership.

"In our case, the main challenges are still that people have sufficient to buy the lot, but getting construction financing to build the home is difficult," he said.

"The bank requirements are very onerous. It's a major hurdle. They've become more flexible in some areas. The interest rates have come down. The issue is: It's got cheaper to borrow, but it's dfficult to borrow.

"For people who qualify, and have a downpayment, sound financial history and good quality jobs, and want to buy, they should be able to get a mortgage. To me, it's still too difficult, even with the Stamp Duty exemption," Mr Knowles added.

"We've got to find a way to lower the bar and make it more of a level playing field for the 'average Joe'."

Mr Knowles acknowledged that the domestic real estate market was "getting squeezed", but expressed optimism that better economic times lay ahead for the Bahamas.

"I feel like hopefully we've seen the worst of it," he told Tribune Business. "If they can ever figure out the situation at Cable Beach, I think that will alleviate a lot of the problems in the economy at least. That'll help."

Mario Carey, principal of Mario Carey Realty (MCR), said that while purchaser financing remained a problem, Bahamian commercial banks were starting to become more willing to extend financing.

"We've noticed that the banks are getting a little bit more purchaser friendly, but with preferred clients," he said.

"The lending rates are getting more attractive, with Royal Bank of Canada offering 4.9 per cent and as little as 4 per cent at Scotiabank. They're the lowest I think we've seen in a very long time.

"The banks are trying to make things happen, but with unemployment at 15 per cent, no credit history and no credit reports, it's tough. But they're coming back into the market and understand they need to lend for home ownership."