Commercial banks and other mortgage lenders have been warned that even after the three to six months moratoriums now in place, there will still be many property owners unable to make their mortgage payments on time, senior real estate figures have said.
Head of Terra Caribbean, one of the region’s largest realtors, predicted fallout from the business closures, curfews and other effects of the coronavirus pandemic. And with more than 36,000 Barbadians on the breadline, they urged lenders and borrowers to engage.
Andrew Mallalieu, Terra’s chief executive and the company’s chief operating officer Hayden Hutton told journalists that commercial banks will have to plan for dealing with increased loan delinquency, while homeowners will have to talk to lenders about how they will repay these long-term debts.
The CEO also cautioned commercial banks that it made no sense trying to sell properties through foreclosures in the current market conditions. He said it was much better for the two sides to engage and come to an agreement on the way forward during this unprecedented crisis.
British luxury market specialist Edward de Mallet Morgan, who joined the virtual news briefing from the UK, said there was still a strong appetite in Britain for real estate in Barbados and he expected that this will continue after the COVID-19 crisis has passed.
Mallalieu told the media there were several key indicators of activity that Barbadians needed to focus on which would signal the start of a sustained reactivation of the tourism market and real economic activity.
These, he said, included the reopening of Grantley Adams International Airport to international flights, resumption of classes at Ross University where more than 1500 students and faculty are accommodated, the amount of airline seat availability and capacity given new COVID-19 protocols, long-stay visitor statistics, as well as transaction volumes and leads in the local realty sector.
