National Commercial Bank (NCB) has re-entered the local mortgage market with a single-digit interest rate loan offering. The new facility, introduced earlier this week, features interest rates as low as 9.5 per cent and up to $200,000 cashback for qualified applicants who apply by August 31, 2012. The financial institution said qualified borrowers will have up to 30 years to repay their loans and access to financing of up to 90 per cent of the cost to purchase the house. Additionally, NCB said the facility can be combined with National Housing Trust (NHT) mortgage benefits.

Read more at http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/NCB-offers-9-5--mortgages_10766071

Amost all adults are faced with the choice and challenge of making the decision to build, buy or rent their home. While renting your home may be unavoidable in the early years of adulthood, the time will come when a decision must be made on whether to continuue renting, or to make the leap to buy or build your dream home. Mortgage rates in Jamaica have been trending down and some lenders are now quoting single-digit rates. Both building and buying are now considerably more affordable options for the potential new homeowner, however the expenses of a homeowner also differ significantly from a tenant.

This article by the Jamaica Gleaner highlights the opinions of a few local real estate industry professionals on the rent, build or buy subject, and is a very good read for persons who are now faced with this decision

According to the National Land Agency (NLA), which registers all new transactions, Jamaican mortgage loan providers did marginally higher business in 2011 as compared to 2010. The 12,138 new mortgages registered in Jamaica in 2011 is 2.5% more than the 11,834 registered in 2010. In 2011 however, the Jamaican Government reduced the stamp duty charge on refinancing transactions to a nominal J$100, and so it is expected that a number of mortgagors would have switched their loans to companies with lower interest rates. The NLA is unable to say what proportion of 2011 mortgage transactions might have been refinanced properties.

In the last listing of assets dated September 2011 by the BOJ for Jamaica's building societies, the data shows a 3% improvement in mortgage loans year over year. JNBS continues to lead the sector with J$39.16 billion in residential loans, VMBS had J$26.33 billion in loans, a 5.7% reduction, and Scotia Jamaica Building Society recorded a 23% increase in its portfolio to J$9.7 billion. FirstCaribbean International Building Society grew its loans by 5% to J$8.11 billion.

President of the Jamaica Association of Villas and Apartments (JAVA), Vana Taylor, says  because of delay legislative delays, local villa and strata property owners are missing out on business in the timeshare market. Taylor says  a new and reliable income stream would open for small players in the tourism if property owners were allowed to sell accommodation in time-blocks, and room utilisation rates would grow above the current average of about 30 per cent occupancy throughout the year. JAVA has 400  apartment and villa owners as members, while the Strata Commission has 1,532 strata corporations on record across Jamaica. The timeshare law has been under discussion for over six years.

More at http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120115/business/business1.html