The government is pursuing a $100 million housing bond to dramatically accelerate home construction and address surging demand for affordable housing across Antigua and Barbuda.
According to Antigua News Room, Prime Minister Gaston Browne disclosed the initiative during his weekly Browne and Browne Show radio programme on Saturday. The financing, he said, would bring the government closer to its goal of constructing up to 500 homes annually over the next decade.
Browne confirmed that discussions are already underway with FCIB regarding the proposed bond issue, which he described as critical to expanding housing development nationwide.
"Cash is also an issue, so we met with them, FCIB. And we're trying to float a bond for $100 million, a housing bond. They're looking at it seriously, and we're hoping that they will give favorable consideration," Browne said.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that while projects such as Booby Alley have marked meaningful progress, the pace of construction remains constrained by both financing limitations and labour shortages. He said the National Housing Development and Urban Renewal Company has been instructed to recruit additional workers to support the planned expansion.
"We just don't have enough workers," Browne said. "What we're trying to do is to scale up to about 500 homes a year."
In the near term, Browne said the bond financing would allow the government to increase annual housing output to between 300 and 400 homes, with the longer-term target set at 500 homes each year.
"We want to get up to about 500 homes a year. In the next 10 years, we must deliver no less than 5,000 homes to the people," he said.
Browne argued that achieving this target would have a transformative effect on living standards and social mobility across the twin-island nation.
"If you provide 5,000 homes, on average about three persons per home, we are literally transitioning about 15,000 people into middle-income housing," he said.
Demand for housing remains exceptionally strong, with approximately 7,500 applications currently on file — a figure that continues to grow even as new units are delivered.
"As soon as we deliver a few hundred, a few more come back on," Browne said, adding that the sustained demand justifies an aggressive construction programme. "We know for a fact that we can build up to about 7,000 homes and there is a demand for all of it."
The proposed housing bond forms part of a broader government strategy that includes condominium developments, low-income housing projects, and rent-to-own initiatives — all aimed at expanding home ownership opportunities, reducing overcrowding, and stimulating activity in the construction sector.
