Almost 450 mortgages approved since Building Expo – Min Rodrigues

Coming out of the International Building Expo, which returned after a hiatus in July, hundreds of homeowners were given the green light for their mortgages from several financial institutions while others have already passed the prequalification process.

This was according to Minister within the Housing Ministry, Susan Rodrigues during an event on Thursday.
At the Expo itself, the New Building Society (NBS) prequalified over 500 persons while 302 mortgages have already been approved since then. This is a total of over $2 billion. The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has approved 142 mortgages to the tune of $1.7 billion.
These figures, Minister Rodrigues shared, proved that Guyanese have confidence in the economy and are taking advantage of the investment climate.
“These are the facts. These are not just us speaking about delivering housing, house lots, or homeownership to people. These are actual figures from the bank, people who have already had their mortgages approved and not just constructing on land that they received from the Ministry of Housing but having the confidence in the economy.”
She credited this development to her Government’s careful planning and putting policies in place to create the investment environment and include the lending agencies in this agenda.
“The banks are lowering interest rates rapidly. Now, you can access a low-income mortgage for as low as 3.8 per cent. It has never been that low before. Now is a perfect time. It is the Government of Guyana, the PPP/C Administration with its focus on homeownership and investments in the construction sector that has led to this climate…These things don’t happen by accident.”
Even the banking system, which has been very intimidating sometimes for Guyanese, now the banks are coming to you. The banks are with us. They are with the Government on the ground, meeting the people and providing the opportunity for you to access financing so that you can own your own home,” she added.
Building Expo 2022 attracted some 350 participants, of which at least 25 were foreign companies, including some from the Caribbean – Suriname, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados along with others from the United States, Canada, and Ghana.
President Ali had announced that commercial banks had agreed that there would be no percentage requirement for loans under $6 million once persons qualify under the joint window system. Banks also agreed that the interest rates would be reduced for housing loans under $9 million to now 3.8 per cent.
Additionally, for homes $6 million and lower, Government would support homeownership to give every builder the steel and one sling of cement. Secondly, for every other category over $6 million until $25 million, two slings of cement would be provided.
During the expo, the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) also executed its allocation of 5000 house lots through its “Dream Realised” programme. Over 11,000 house lots have been distributed since the Government took office in August 2020.