"It is important never to stop looking at real estate once you have a dream to own a home," said Andrew Issa of Coldwell Banker Jamaica Realty to the Jamaica Gleaner recently. "There is hope that residential prices will not increase further in 2009," and "There have been price reductions in the price of steel and lumber, so prices of new construction should remain stable for this year." He suggests that those who are considering a real estate purchase should begin with research. "I always encourage first-time home buyers to meet with mortgage brokers and real-estate agents to get a clear understanding of exactly what they can afford to buy," he said.

"Purchasing your home or securing your house lot allows buyers to start building their equity base, which, in reality, will be their security blanket in later years to come." said Issa.

 

Jamaica's first real estate investment trust, the Carlton Savannah REIT was introduced to the market recently. Carlton Savannah is regarded as premium real estate located in Port of Spain, in the strong and growing economy of Trinidad. For as little as J$60,000, investors had the opportunity to participate in the appreciating real estate market in Trinidad and Tobago. The IPO closed on June 13 after a two week extension, however despite early optimism the Jamaica Gleaner reports that there is speculation that the IPO did not attract as much investors as the ceators had hoped, perhaps because of lack of investor knowledge of the product. It still however listed on the JSE and the outlook remains positive.