Jamaica is rebuilding.
Not in theory. Not in headlines. Not in forecasts imported from somewhere else.
But in real time — board by board, block by block, family by family.
Hurricane Melissa did not just damage roofs and roads. It disrupted lives, displaced households, and exposed again a truth Jamaicans already know: housing is not just an asset class here — it is dignity, stability, and survival. And while conversations globally are turning to “improving affordability,” Jamaica’s reality demands something more honest, more careful, and more rooted in fact.
Let’s be clear from the outset: affordability in Jamaica will not improve simply because a storm has passed. There is no economic rule — moral or market-based — that says destruction lowers housing costs. If anything, the opposite tends to be true.
Construction materials do not get cheaper after hurricanes.
Labour does not become more available.
Logistics do not simplify.
Insurance, compliance, and financing do not loosen overnight.
What is…
