Now might be the best time to buy property in Westmoreland… or Portland!

According to the Bank of Jamaica’s Financial Stability Report, these were the hottest places to buy real estate in the past three years – Westmoreland, St James, Hanover, St Mary and Portland.  Property values in these parishes have all gone up an average of 62% since 2019. 

For those who need a little geography refresher, these parishes are all on Jamaica’s north coast, known for its white sandy beaches and of course tourism.

According to the BOJ’s report, while property values were the highest in urban areas of Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine and St Ann, Jamaica’s north coast recorded a sharp uptick in prices. 

62% in four years is quite a lot!  That means that if you bought a house for $10 million in 2019, that house is worth $16.2 million today.

And if you’ve been watching Taking Stock, then you already have an idea what’s driving up property values. Tourism! 

We know Jamaica’s tourism rebound has been one of the driving factors for economic growth after the pandemic. The tourism industry brought in almost J$4 billion in 2022.  According to the Ministry of Tourism, numbers from the 2022/23 winter season were 29% higher than 2019.

The northwestern parishes have really emerged as a Mecca for tourists. And with the massive explosion of short-term rentals, like AirBnB or villas, it’s easy to see why property values are up in these parishes. Remember that Negril is in Westmoreland and that’s not only a hotspot for hotels but also parties and events that draw a big international crowd. 

And when these people come to the island, they’ll need somewhere to stay. So more people are getting into the AirBnB business. I mean, just think back to April, when it was Carnival season. The Government said Airbnb, villas and hotels were almost 100% booked out. So, of course more people would want a piece of that pie.

And we talked about supply and demand, the more people want houses or villas to rent out, the higher the cost of the property will be.

As for Portland and St Mary, they have always been kinda the hidden gems, mostly because the roads to get there were so bad. 

But with the St Thomas leg of the Southern Coastal Highway under construction, we may be seeing property prices go up in anticipation of a tourism boom in the east.

And that’s the bottom line.