The builders and housing association proposes, as one of the measures to encourage the construction of social housing and help minimize the growing housing deficit, to modify the regulations to lower the costs for the construction of apartment buildings.
The problem of the lack of social or low-cost housing is a long-standing one in Guatemala. The lack of access to financing, due to the high degree of informality in which most of the low-income population in the country finds itself, added to the lack of supply of this type of housing, means that this problem, far from being corrected, is growing more and more.
Although the Guatemalan economy has almost stagnated in recent months, during the first half of the year the number of loans granted for the purchase of residences grew 3%, and by 2021 it is predicted that sales could be similar to those of 2019.
The social distancing measures and the prohibition of several economic activities decreed by the authorities due to the covid-19 outbreak, caused considerable negative effects to the Guatemalan real estate market.
In 2019, 426 environmental impact studies were submitted to develop condominiums, apartment buildings and other housing projects in Central American countries.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", of the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, includes an up-to-date list of public and private construction projects that present environmental impact studies (EIS) to the respective institutions in each country.
Vertical housing developments in Panama and Guatemala, and the development of a mixed-use project in Costa Rica, are part of the investments planned for the coming months in the region.
The interactive system "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects that are expected to be built in the coming months.
In the first quarter of 2019, 76 environmental impact studies were submitted to develop condominiums, apartment buildings and other housing projects in the countries of the region.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects for which environmental impact studies (EIA) were submitted to the respective institutions of each country.
Currently, 13,000 homes are built per year, however, to reduce the housing deficit in the country, at least 55,000 units should be built annually.
The Foundation for Development (Fundesa) presented the National Housing Plan, whose main objective is to establish actions focused on the promotion of the housing market in Guatemala.
Enade 2018 will be held on October 11 and its central theme will be solving the problem of the housing deficit that is affecting the country.
Enade 2018 is being organized by the Foundation for the Development of Guatemala and will take place on Thursday, October 11 at 2:00 pm, at the Hotel Westin Camino Real Convention Center in Guatemala City.
V & T SA has been awarded a contract for the construction of a thousand houses, which will be delivered to those affected by the eruptions of the Fuego Volcano.
On Monday, the Ministry of Communications awarded V & T S.A. the construction project, urbanization of the residential complex "La Dignidad", which will be located in the department and municipality of Escuintla.
Authorities stated that this week they plan to publish specifications for the construction of 750 houses, which will be delivered to those affected by the eruptions of the Fuego Volcano.
Representatives from the Ministry of Communications, announced that the tender will include the design and construction of low-cost housing, and that the process will be published in the next few days on the Guatecompras portal.
The proposal to create an entity in Guatemala in which workers can save up to buy a home is under review by two law firms, and it is expected to be presented to the congress this year.
With the creation of the Housing Savings Institute (AVI by its initials in Spanish), which is based on similar experiences that have taken place in Mexico and Colombia, it is intended to include among the beneficiaries people who receive family remittances, workers in the informal economy and the self employed.
The government has announced that it will have $8 million to subsidize interest rates on loans for the construction of six thousand middle class homes.
This is the second announcement made by the Hernández administration so far this year regarding financing for the construction of low-income housing. At the beginning of January, financing was reported for the construction of 10,000 homes in the capital and its surroundings.
The nicaraguan government has announced a new subsidy on the interest rate for apartments´purchases worth up to $50,000 and constructed within buildings with no more than four floors.
In addition to this new incentive to purchase housing classified as social interest and in high rise form, the Ortega administration has announced that it will expand from $32 thousand to $40 thousand the maximum value of high rise housing that is eligible for the current interest rate subsidy.
Apartment buildings, condominiums and complementary works in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras are some of the construction projects planned for the coming months in the region.
The interactive platform"Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects for which environmental impact studies (EIA) were submitted to the respective institutions of each country in June 2017.
The government of Guatemala has announced the creation of a one-stop shop to manage environmental permits for social housing construction projects.
Through an agreement between the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and the Central American Association for Housing, the single window will be implemented to make the process more expeditious.
In Guatemala a proposal has been made to apply mechanisms such as leasing and securitization to facilitate house buying.
From articles published on Dca.gob.gt:
"With the goal of providing Guatemalans with access to a decent home, national and international experts in the development of housing and infrastructure tools this morning proposed housing leasing and securitization.During the event, a presentation was given on the functioning of housing leasing, a mechanism which would provided an opportunity for access to housing for those people who do not have a down payment to buy their first home."