Realtor: Returning residents boost demand for smaller homes, The Gleaner June 16, 2022

With a fear of being targeted by criminals or being overcharged by contractors, most returning residents are now opting for smaller homes on their return to the island after retirement, but realtors note that such options are hard to come by.

The demand for smaller, more affordable housing solutions is particularly high in central Jamaica, where many returning residents settle.

“We have a lot of people wanting to return, but they all want single-floor, three-bedroom bungalows. But what we have in the market, especially in Mandeville, is a lot of seven- or eight-bedroom [units] for $50 million or $70 million, which is not what they are looking for,” realtor Pauline Lettman told The Gleaner.

For many years, the suburbs in the Manchester parish capital have been a favourite for returnees, mainly drawn to the area because of its cool climate.

But while traditionally, they had opted for multistorey dwellings, crime has been forcing many to scale back and now seek to make $20-million to $30-million investments on a house.

“There is a shortage of those. As soon as you put one on the market, you have 20 realtors calling to say they have a client … ,” noted Lettman, who owns Pauline Lettman and Associates Ltd and has been in the business for 24 years.

She added that although there remains some demand for town houses in gated communities, the smaller houses in this price range continue to be popular among the returnees, adding that while many locals also prefer these units, they are usually only able to finance them through mortgages, and their National Housing Trust benefit is not enough to make the purchase.

“I have a waiting list of about 20 persons looking for houses in that price range, and there are none. Recently, we had a realtors meeting, and that is one of the things discussed – that the demand is more than what is available, and that is what is pushing the prices up,” said Lettman.

While underdeveloped infrastructure is a deal breaker for some returning residents, Black River Mayor Derrick Sangster said several persons tend to return to their parish of origin and make do with what already exists.

“A lot of persons tend to want to return to their districts that they have come from. Santa Cruz is a popular area for returning residents because of its density of population and the active commercial area,” said Sangster, who chairs the St Elizabeth Municipal corporation.

“Black River has its fair share of returnees because people prefer being near to the sea and Southfield because of its climatic conditions,” he said, naming two other popular settlement areas in the Breadbasket Parish.

While he was not aware of any specific development plans to attract returnees, he noted that they continue to acquire lands and build houses in the parish.

Shafted by building contractors

Percival LaTouche, president of the Returning Residents Association of Jamaica, admitted that he advises returnees to buy smaller homes for ease and comfort and to avoid being targeted by criminals. This, he said, is because of the continuous reports from returnees who have been shafted by building contractors who overprice their contracts and underdeliver.

LaTouche said that if the Government was able to successfully put a lid on crime, there would be significantly more returned residents now living across the island than the current estimated 27,000.

“It's because of the kinds of robbery and murder that is taking place with them. And it's not in the public domain because when you take it to the public domain, it just encourages the robbers to prey more on them,” he told The Gleaner.

Though unable to give a parish breakdown of the number of returnees, LaTouche said that there has been a steady decline in the annual number of persons heading back to settle in the island, adding that there was a noted increase in the number of persons who have changed their minds and returned to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada for safety reasons.

“In Mandeville alone, I know of about 17 houses locked up ... . But people still coming in, and some are building. But I am encouraging the older ones, where necessary, to look at the smaller houses across the island in good areas,” he said.

President of the Central Manchester Returned Citizens' Association, Jasmine Pottinger, said that many Jamaicans returning home are generally impressed with the level of development in the country, pleased with the changes since they migrated.

She said that despite concerns about rising crime and a constrained health system, returnees admit that are normally shocked to see the realities in the countries they had migrated to and quickly realise that they are often no different from Jamaica's.

Pottinger said that most of those who return overseas after coming back home are “women who have lost their husbands, and their children live abroad and tell them to come back”.

“It's really hard when you have lost your spouse and you are out here on your own,” she added.