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  • 2 years ago
The average home in Trinidad and Tobago is in the vicinity of two million dollars, yet still, the majority of people seeking homes have budgets closer to one million. Thankfully, developers are responding to the demands of the market, and developing more affordable homes. Rynessa Cutting has more from Republic Bank's Home Ownership Event, in collaboration with My Bunch of Keys.
Transcript
00:00 Hundreds flocked to Republic Bank's home ownership event, a clear and telling indication of the
00:06 home ownership status of the population.
00:09 I think we have close to possibly 500 to 700 persons thus far, right?
00:14 And we only are around half past 11, we go till 5 o'clock.
00:20 So we have actually seen quite a number of persons thus far.
00:23 What is the price point that you're seeing most requested from people here today?
00:28 Yes, so the price point I will say is between 1.2 to 1.5.
00:33 That is what the majority of persons seem to be asking about.
00:37 Aspiring homeowners were able to check out the listings on the market and also meet one-on-one
00:43 with RBL mortgage specialists to get pre-qualified, with the vast majority falling in the lower
00:48 and middle income brackets.
00:50 At around $1.5 million, what is the average qualifying salary and monthly instalment looking like?
00:58 So the qualifying salary at $1.5, we've been told is in the vicinity of $17,500 per month
01:10 in order to be able to pay on a 30-year mortgage about $7,700.
01:17 But real estate agents tell TV6 developers have been responding more and more to the
01:22 demands of the market.
01:24 And the more million-dollar homes are becoming available, albeit probably not single units.
01:30 Now you have more developments coming onto the market where the prices don't have to
01:36 be as high as $1.5 or $2 million.
01:39 So if you are open to a townhouse or even a condo, which we would call an apartment in
01:45 a gated community, there are developments on the market where you can get in to the
01:50 development at $750, $800.
01:53 You have townhouses along the east-west and in central that start around $1.5, $1.4, and
01:58 you can even get a fixer-upper, which is house and land for that price.
02:01 So you have options.
02:02 So the average person has way more options, and I believe into the next two to five-year
02:08 period you're going to see a large increase in developments around the country and varying
02:13 prices.
02:15 On the financing end, Republic Bank says it's doing all that it can to facilitate the process
02:20 to make the dream of home ownership a reality.
02:24 We have 100% financing.
02:25 So it means that even if you don't have a down payment, we could provide you with 100%
02:32 financing of the property.
02:33 So if the property costs $1.2 million, then we could finance you up to $1.2 million.
02:39 Then we also have cashback of $40,000.
02:43 So a lot of times, persons may actually be interested in buying a house, can afford it,
02:49 but then when they reach legal fees, can't afford the legal fees.
02:53 So the cashback of $40,000 could be put towards the legal fees.
02:57 Renassa Cutting, TV6 News.
02:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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