When the hurricane finally released its grip on Jamaica and the winds fell into an uneasy hush, I stood looking at the aftermath with a kind of sobering clarity. As someone who has spent years walking this island, studying its terrain, guiding buyers, and watching the market shift in subtle ways, I realised that the storm didn’t just tear through houses and hillsides—it tore through assumptions. It exposed a truth we’ve been whispering for years but rarely confronting outright: the real danger in Jamaican real estate has never been the interest rate. It’s been the waiting.
For months before the storm, countless buyers told me they were sitting tight, watching the banks, hoping for that magical dip to 5.99%. They believed that if they could just wait a little longer, the right rate would make everything easier. I understood the instinct—every Jamaican wants value for money—but I also knew the reality: Jamaica is not America, and our housing market does not move like theirs. We don’t get…
