The lack of growth in the domestic construction sector must be examined by the government, according to President of the Bahamian Contractors Association Stephen Wrinkle, who noted that Bahamians have the challenge of qualifying for home loans.
“I see the banks are doing well this year and that’s fine but Bahamians can’t get access to those funds… The government needs to look at the mortgage industry as a whole to reinvigorate the sector, because Bahamians can’t invest in a home if they can’t qualify for bank loans,” Wrinkle told Guardian Business yesterday.
“Until that happens we won’t see any growth in the housing market at all. In order for it to rebound, Bahamians need to qualify for mortgages.”
The construction sector showed no signs of recovery according to the latest Central Bank report, with total mortgage disbursements declining 15.4 percent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2011.
