In the run-up to the election we have heard a lot about young Caymanians being locked out of the housing market. This is usually blamed on foreigners buying homes here.
The reality is that home prices have increased worldwide since COVID.
According to a 2024 survey by the US National Association of Home Builders, the average construction cost of building a typical single-family house in the US has gone up dramatically.
The total average construction cost was US$428,215, or about $162 per square foot – the highest in the history of the association’s surveys. The cost of construction per square foot was $80 in 2011; $95 in 2013; $103 in 2015; $86 in 2017; $114 in 2019; and $153 in 2024.
Of course, we all know that prices in the Cayman Islands will be much higher than the USA.
What can a new government do to try to reduce prices?
- Give an import duty waiver on materials used to build homes for Caymanians, just like the import duty waivers given for luxury hotels and condos.
- Stamp duty waivers for Caymanians, not just first-time buyers, and to higher levels.
- Improve the roads going to the east so homes can be built where land is less expensive – without their owners being stuck in two hours of traffic every day.
- Institute proper public transport that runs reliably up till later hours. We understand that the biggest demand for buses will be during the morning and afternoon rush hours and that the rest of the time the buses will be only partly full. This is the same in every city and may require government subsidy.
- Government-backed home loans with smaller down payments, say, 10% rather than 20%.
Norman Linton
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