Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Michael Pintard said yesterday that an FNM administration would immediately begin construction on hundreds of homes to address a worsening housing shortage in the country.
“Within the first six months of being in office, we will have commenced hundreds of homes because it’s just that simple,” he said on the Guardian Radio talk show “Morning Blend” with host Dwight Strachan.
“We are that far along in our discussions with partners locally and internationally that will help us explode the housing sector.”
A lack of affordable housing, particularly on New Providence, has been a growing concern in recent years.
Last week, as he cited rising housing costs and stagnant wages, Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal Keith Bell said the situation is the “definition of a housing affordability crisis”.
St. Anne’s MP Adrian White previously told reporters recently that an FNM government would build 2,000 homes a year.
Pintard said he believes this to be a reasonable goal.
“Two thousand homes being constructed is a realistic goal, given the talent and the resources available in country and out of the country,” Pintard said.
“We are well on our way with that particular plan. We’ll unveil the various models and the entire financing mechanism.
“You have 25,000 homes in inventory that have been repossessed, that are on banks’ listings, etc.
“There are government buildings that are abandoned, many throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and in New Providence. Why are we not putting those to productive use?
“So, there’s a failure of vision and execution, and we will be able to correct that once given a chance.”
Pintard said the FNM has already had discussions with private sector actors about the feasibility of the goal.
“We have had the opportunities with a number of companies that have the ability to comfortably roll out 2,000 homes in setting up Bahamian-owned, jointly with others, or standalone Bahamian-owned manufacturing companies that are able to generate panels and the vast majority of the inputs required to go into a systems bill,” he said.
“Secondly, we are also able to engage in traditional building, because what you do not want to do is disadvantage the traditional construction sector who build eight inch blocks, or in some cases using wood with metal framing, etc.
“So, there are a variety of systems, but we do know this is not complex.
“We have persons who are associated with the government, who have established their companies, who brought in factories to build their development.
“So, when they talk about there’s a challenge with building 2,000 homes, it’s laughable.”
When he spoke last week, Bell noted that while the results of a housing census indicated a large number of abandoned buildings, it does not accurately reflect the housing crisis Bahamians are facing.
“Despite the increase in dwellings, Bahamians continue to face crowding and rising rents,” said Bell in the House of Assembly.
“If there were truly an excess of homes, rents and property prices would be falling; instead, prices continue to rise.”
He cited an International Monetary Fund (IMF) paper on housing affordability in The Bahamas, which found that between 2012 and 2022, property prices and rents rose by 14 percent, while average salaries increased by two percent.