世界发展银行-Rapid-Housing-Sector-Assessment---Sint-Maarten_94页_14mb

Rapid Housing Sector Assessment: Sint Maarten

Core Content

This document presents a Rapid Housing Sector Diagnostic conducted by the World Bank in 2019, following the devastation of Hurricane Irma in September 2017. The assessment focuses on Sint Maarten's housing challenges, including affordability, land constraints, informal housing, and disaster resilience, and provides policy recommendations to address these issues.

Main Findings

1. Housing Market Vulnerability and Challenges

• Extremely Vulnerable Risk Profile: Sint Maarten is at high risk from natural disasters, including hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding.
• Affordability Issues: Housing is unaffordable for many low- and middle-income residents. The cheapest houses for sale start at USD 200,000-250,000, which is far beyond the reach of most households.
• Bifurcated Market: The housing market is divided into two segments:
  • Luxury Market: Serves wealthy, mostly foreign, investors with high-value properties.
  • Informal and Rental Market: Serves low- and middle-income local populations, often in poor-quality, informal housing or substandard rental units.

2. Social Housing Challenges

• SMHDF (Sint Maarten Housing Development Foundation) is the main provider of social housing, but faces operational and financial constraints.
• Rent Caps: Rents are capped at 30% of tenants’ gross income, often significantly below market rates, leading to long waitlists and tenant dissatisfaction.
• Delinquencies and Maintenance Issues: High delinquency rates in SMHDF developments are attributed to poor housing quality and maintenance.
• Lack of Coordination: Poor coordination between SMHDF and VROMI (Ministry of Public Housing) hampers effective service delivery.

3. Land Market Constraints

• Limited Developable Land: The island’s hilly terrain and lack of flat land restrict housing development.
• Government and Private Land Issues: Large tracts of government-owned land under long-term leases remain underdeveloped, while private land faces unresolved inheritance issues.
• Land Costs: Land constitutes 30-60% of the total selling price of a property, significantly increasing housing costs.
• Land Use Policies: The Hillside Policy promotes forest preservation, leading to lower density and larger parcel sizes, further constraining development.

4. High Housing Costs

• Construction Costs: High due to terrain, imported materials, and labor, as well as high contractor profit margins from risk.
• Closing Costs: Up to 14% of the purchase price, including realtor fees, notary costs, and transfer taxes.
• Turnover Tax: A 5% flat tax applied at multiple points in the housing supply chain, increasing overall costs.
• House Size: Most houses for sale are over 100 m², contributing to higher prices.

5. Informal Housing and Rental Market

• Informal Settlements: Approximately 15% of residential units are in informal settlements, often on private or public land.
• Informal Rental Market: The majority of low- and middle-income residents live in informal rental units, which are often non-compliant with building standards.
• Rental Costs: Even modest rental units in the formal market start at USD 600-800 per month, while informal settlements offer slightly lower rates.

6. Affordability and Access to Finance

• Mortgage Debt-to-GDP Ratio: 48% in 2017, largely attributed to foreign luxury buyers.
• Limited Access to Loans: Many residents, especially those below the 60th income percentile, cannot access conventional mortgages.
• Mortgage Guarantee Fund: A previously established fund is not operational and requires reactivation to support first-time homebuyers.

Key Recommendations

1. Promote Affordable Housing Development

• Increase Social Housing Supply: Based on the 2012 Housing Vision Report, demand for affordable housing is significant and likely increased post-Hurricane Irma.
• Incentivize Private Developers: Encourage development of cheaper, smaller homes through expedited permits, favorable land access, and tax abatements.
• Investigate Public Land for Affordable Housing: Use public land for pilot projects and explore public-private partnerships for mixed-income developments.

2. Strengthen the Rental Market

• Formalize Informal Rental Units: Conduct a deeper analysis of the informal rental market to understand needs and usage patterns.
• Implement Rental Subsidy Programs: Develop targeted rental voucher programs to support low-income households, similar to those in Chile, the U.S., and the U.K.
• Legalize Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs): Encourage the construction of ADUs to increase housing supply and affordability.

3. Support Low-Income and Vulnerable Households

• Expand Roof Repair Program: Scale up the roof repair initiative and introduce subsidies for other home improvements, conditional on insurance coverage.
• Pilot Informal Settlement Upgrades: Legalize and upgrade selected informal settlements, especially those on public land, to improve living conditions and disaster resilience.

4. Improve Technical and Financial Capacity

• Domain Affairs: Develop a centralized database for public and private land, update land rents, and introduce a vacant land tax.
• Permitting and Inspection: Transition to a digitized system to streamline the process and reduce delays.
• SMHDF Reforms: Enhance the operational model of SMHDF, including organizational structure, staffing, and financial flows.
• Housing Policy Expert: Appoint a dedicated housing policy expert within VROMI to coordinate and develop housing policies.
• Community Consultation: Establish formal mechanisms for community input in housing decision-making.

Conclusion

The report serves as a starting point for dialogue between the Sint Maarten government and the World Bank. It outlines the current challenges in the housing sector, particularly the affordability crisis, informal housing prevalence, and limited land availability, and proposes practical, short- and medium-term solutions to improve the resilience and responsiveness of the housing market. These recommendations emphasize the need for policy reform, financial support, and technical capacity building to better serve the needs of low- and middle-income households.