Branch Manager at JMMB Bank, Owen Ferguson, says a boom in the local ‘side hustle’ economy could be behind the increased demand of young professionals buying real estate.

Ferguson’s comments come following a report from the Realtors’ Association of Jamaica (RAJ) that revealed young professionals are driving up both the real estate and mortgage markets.

Speaking on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds, Ferguson noted that young professionals are considered to be between the ages of 25-35.  

“We’re finding that people are employing themselves in multiple ways. They have a day job and they have one or two side hustles,” he said.

“So what you find is that many of our 25-year-olds come to us with applications showing between two and four sources of income, and it puts them in a position to access greater amounts for a mortgage and qualify much earlier,” he added. 

According to the data from the RAJ, real estate transactions topped $13 billion in value in the first half of this year, with sales concentrated within the top income bracket.

Vice-President of the RAJ, Gabrielle Grant Gilpin-Hudson explained that the association’s data was compiled using information from its Multiple Listing Service, which tracks transactions done with local real estate agencies. She noted that the true value of the transactions is likely higher as some transactions are done without a real estate broker.

She also explained that real estate brokers currently define middle-income residences as homes priced within the $15 to $25 million range, while high-income residences are priced between $25 to $45 million.

She noted that all of 2022, t there were 1,608 transactions worth nearly $108 billion spanning the four categories of residential real estate.  

Grant Gilpin-Hudson said she believes that Jamaica’s overall push towards financial literacy is also contributing to the increase in young people purchasing real estate. 

“I really do see I push across Jamaica where persons are taking financial literacy more seriously and they are looking at ‘how can I invest and how can I grow my wealth?’’,”  she said.

“And one of the tried and true areas of growing wealth is through real estate and so you’re seeing more people having an interest in buying properties for investment purposes,” she added. 

The Vice-President also noted that local institutions along people up to 70 years old to take out a mortgage but the younger one does it, the more time they will have to pay it off and the better terms they can receive from lending institutions.

“You’ll have a longer time to repay the mortgage, so your monthly payments will likely be lower etc. So, I think that’s why we’re starting to see that sweet spot of 25 to 35-year-olds taking a mortgage and buying a home,” she said.