Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter
Study in contrast: Two homes in Portmore with different designs. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
PORTMORE, THAT sprawling urban spread a stone's throw from Kingston, has not benefited from the rapid appreciation in housing prices which the other major urban areas have experienced over the past 18 months.
That's the word from real estate experts.
"I would say that the appreciation in Portmore has not been as great as in other areas [across the island]," said realtor Valerie Levy. While speaking at Mayberry's monthly Investors' Forum last week at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston.
"Home prices in Portmore will appreciate, no doubt, but, to be honest with you [with] real estate it's location," continued Mrs. Levy. She attributed this lag in house appreciation to lax policing and enforcement of construction in the area.
MUMBLE JUMBLE
"Many people who have bought an existing property have gone ahead and added without getting professional advice so everybody is building in a different way and it is a mumble jumble and that actually affects the value of your property," she argued.
Joan Maureen of Coldwell Banker, who specialises in selling Portmore real estate, agrees.
"It speaks to a certain mindset. You have a large lower-income group [in Portmore] and you find that people tend to build without due regard for the building codes. So, yes, it does impact no two ways about it," she told Sunday Business.
However, the Mayor of Portmore, George Lee, disagrees, saying his council has been vigilant in policing construction in the city.
"That is incorrect," he told Sunday Business. "Over the past year and a half we have been on a drive to deal with that question. Right now, every month, we serve up to 50, 60 notices," he explained. Continued the mayor, "In fact, two months ago we served over a hundred notices on people doing illegal extensions."
According to Mayor Lee, "I don't think they [in the real estate industry] know about the drive that is now on to enforce building regulations in Portmore."
IMAGE PROBLEM
Still, while this may be true, there is an image problem as far as Portmore is concerned.
Mrs. Levy shared an anecdote. "There are people who want to buy a property [in Portmore] and you will do a showing [of the place] in the week. But these persons will never make a decision to buy until they go and see what is happening on the weekend because it is on the weekends when trucks go in and the repairs start."
Joan Maureen suggests that there is still the perception of Portmore as a community for the lower end of the market. This stigma, she argues, affects some of the older and well-maintained neighbourhoods in the city.
"Because of people's general perception of Portmore ... as the lower end of the market, you'll
find a home, for example in Edgewater Sector F which compares to a home in Mona, and it will not fetch the same price because of this perception of the area," she argued.
She pointed out that most of the homes in Portmore are priced so that beneficiaries of the National Housing Trust (NHT) can afford to purchase them. "If you ... price a home above what a NHT person would qualify for -- and that is before the $3 million benefit, obviously - chances are it is not going to sell readily because the people who can afford beyond that don't want to live in Portmore ? they'd prefer a pricier community in Kingston."
For his own part, Mayor Lee said. "I don't know that Portmore has a negative image. Many people I know who have lived in Portmore for thirty years would not leave ? for Kingston. I feel safer in Portmore. I know people in Beverly Hills who want to buy a piece of land in Hellshire."
Mrs. Levy makes a similar observation. "Portmore ? is a lovely city [but] you need to be vigilant as to what is happening in your neighbourhood and ? report what is not designed for the neighbourhood," she emphasised.
A tale of two cities: property values in Kingston and Portmore
Year
| 2001 | 2006 | Increase | 1 Bedroom loft apt, Merrivale | $2.8 m | $5 m | 76 % |
| 3 Bedroom house, M/Brook Estates | $3.2 m | $5.7 m | 78 % |
| 4 Bedroom house, Hope Pastures | $8 m | $14.5 m | 81% |
| 2 Bedroom, Waterford | $1.8 m | $2.2 m | 22% |
| 2 Bedroom, Gore Tuca | $2.6 m | $3.2 m | 23 % |
| 3 Bedroom, Passagefort | $3 m | $3.6 m | 20 % |
