Christopher Burgess | Starter homes – money makers not ‘matchboxes’

At the launch of yet another middle-income housing scheme, the prime minister dismissed starter homes as ‘matchboxes’ and ‘ovens.’ But in a country where just 2,400 homes are built annually to meet a demand of over 15,000, the crisis cannot be solved with J$20 million units. Starter homes are not the problem, they offer the best value for money for the working class, many of whom are locked out of Jamaica’s housing market.

Starters are compact studio and 1-bedroom solutions, around 300 square feet, and starter lots that are less than 2000 square feet. They offer low-income families entry for under $10.0 million and stretch government resources by providing more solutions with less money and less land. Additional bedrooms, rental spaces, and even an upper floor can be added overtime.

From Nannyville Gardens in the 1970s to Catherine Estates today, Jamaica has relied on starter homes to meet its housing needs. Except, demand is outpacing supply. 74,000 working-class families need these solutions, based on the NHT ‘effective’ demand market survey, yet the government completed less than 600 starters last year, and emphasised building 1500 expensive ‘cottages’. Why is the largest and most vulnerable segment of the housing demand being ignored?

LEGACY

Starter homes have been key in Jamaica’s housing strategy for over 50 years. Sites and Services Programme and Sugar Workers Housing in the 1970s, delivered thousands of homes such as Eltham Park and De La Vega City. The 1980s followed with thousands of shell units in places like Naggo Head, allowing families to build as they earned. The 1990s brought Operation PRIDE, regularising over 100 informal communities, and the single largest Caribbean housing development of Greater Portmore that brought over 10,000 starter units.

In the 2000s, Providence Heights and Belle Aire, delivered thousands of units. Today, Catherine Estates continues that legacy with 1,650 expandable homes. These are not ‘matchboxes.’ They are proven and practical solutions that meet the economic realities of the Jamaican working class.

Just ask a fireman, earning $160,000 a month, if he can afford a mortgage on a $20 million home. This is where starters offer a solution, providing a practical path to our frontline workers owning a home on less than J$150,000 per month to qualify for a unit.

FROM QUAD TO FIVE-BEDROOM

In 1994, government workers and young professionals lined up at 3 a.m. at the National Arena, to apply for a ‘quad’ in Greater Portmore. Today, they are now two story, five-bedroom homes with rental suites earning $45,000–$90,000 per month. The same units now sell for over J$23 million. Greater Portmore is a city unto itself, with barbers, caterers, even medical offices, thanks to the vision of starter units. The early homeowners are the winners.

The real return on investment on these units is over 13 per cent per annum and exceeds the returns on traditional REITS and shouldn’t be dismissed or marginalised.

NORTH COAST SUCCESS

In 2005, some scoffed at Duncans Hill in Trelawny, calling the stilted design an eyesore and mistake. But today, police officers, firemen, nurses and civil servants live in homes, on lots once priced at J$150,000, now worth over J$40 million. Some expanded to 8-bedroom units, with rental suites.

Tourism workers on minimum wage and gratuity on contract now rent studios, between the stilts. Because hotel workers largely remain locked out of J$20 million units, in St. James. For them, the only hope is a starter unit near to the economic realities of cheap hotel jobs.

Spicy Hill, a small NHT starter development, sold out instantly, units once priced at J$12 million now fetch J$24 million. The demand is undeniable, and the returns are 18 per cent plus. Yet, government focus has shifted away from these proven solutions.

DELAY TO DELIVERY

Conceived in 2005 and launched in 2020, faced delays due to flood control, infrastructure readiness, and PPP arrangements. It is now a flagship of what is possible, selling units at less than J$10 million. The studio and one-bedroom homes are already being expanded upwards. Demand is overwhelming and speaks to the project’s appeal.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

Starter homes are getting better, but there is still room for improvement, like mixed used developments, bigger windows, higher slab roofs, solar water heaters, and roof cooling materials. Standalone starter homes, rather than cramped quads or duplexes, allow for easier expansion and cross-ventilation.

Government must prioritize its commitment to these money earners. Expanded starter homes appreciate faster at over 12 per cent, outperforming bungalows. Yet the National Housing Policy (2023) only vaguely promises to ‘increase incremental housing solutions’. That’s not a commitment. The way forward is improved designs, streamlining approvals, and use of public land for low-income working-class Jamaicans, to have a path to home ownership.

VALUE FOR MONEY

Duncans Hill, Greater Portmore, and Catherine Estates worked for low-income earners and government, offering value for money. The real challenge is delivering units faster, cheaper, and at scale, below J$10.0 million. University of Technology, Jamaica and The University of the West Indies should jump at the research opportunities to innovate climate-smart affordable designs to these challenges.

Starter homes are how thousands of Jamaicans entered the housing market, earn, and fill a housing gap, especially for tourism and public sector workers. They are moneymakers and not ‘matchboxes’.

It’s time Jamaica launched a mass production strategy for the next generation of 74,000 starter homes, dedicated to first-time buyers, grounded in the economic realities of this low-wage economy.

Christopher Burgess, PhD is a registered civil engineer, land developer and the managing director of CEAC Solutions Company Limited. He is currently a Jamaica Institution of Engineers council member. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com