The two day June Housing Expo was held on the 19th and 20th of June at the Crowne Plaza Convention Centre in Managua and attracted about 2,500 potential customers interested in purchasing a home of their own.
Félix Baltodano (President of the Nicaraguan Chamber of Developers – CADUR) said “In those two days, our members reserved sixty houses, twenty-seven lots and are following up on more than eight hundred clients who registered at the show as interested in buying a home.
The representatives of the urban development sector were optimistic when evaluating the results of the June Housing Expo. There were 50 different display stands including 40 urban projects – so plenty of options for buyers to look at, all under one roof and matching buyers to sellers.
The developers say they hope to total around two hundred reserved homes as a direct result of the show and follow up meetings with prospective buyers. This would represent almost 7% of the 2021 annual target of 3,000 homes built this year.
CADUR, founded in 1993 as a non-profit association has the mission to develop urban projects, promote laws that facilitate the construction of new developments and enter into agreements that allow more people to obtain financing to buy their home.
A Good Start to 2021
In the first three months of 2021, CADUR reported the construction of seven hundred and fifty houses, largely due to the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN) reactivating mortgage loans.
Although the first show of 2021 (held in March) was better attended, CADUR say that the June Housing Expo attracted more attendees that were qualified buyers and who had made the purchase decision.
Developers More Confident
Félix Baltodano noted that CADUR have been taking action to grow the sector and return to the construction levels that will satisfy the demand for the housing. He added “the housing deficit in Nicaragua is estimated at about one million homes. With the National Bank openly supporting mortgage credit, developers are encouraged to continue building.
Continuing to be in high demand are houses priced from US $18,000 to US $30,000. There was also a lot of interest at the June Housing Expo in homes ranging from US $80,000 to US $200,000.
Higher value homes have not been as popular over the last 3 years, however, with a good inventory to choose from, financing at good rates (the lowest interest rates in the last ten years) and up to 10% lower building costs, it’s possible to buy a new house with a good construction price in a good location.
CABEI Funds for Social Housing
The developers working in the low-income housing sector will receive a lift when the Central American Bank for Economic Integration – CABEI (Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica – BCIE) disburses more funds in October this year. One hundred million dollars will be allocated for low-income housing. This should produce about seven thousand homes in that sector over the next three years.
