Adjustments to NHT Rates and Borrowing Amount effective July 2023

Intro

You can now borrow more from the nht! 

In his contribution to the Budget Debate in March 2023, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced changes to the interest rate and maximum amount that could be accessed through the National Housing Trust (NHT).

To learn more about the National Housing Trust and how it can help you purchase your first home, visit my article here: https://financialcentsibility.com/your-nht-benefit-make-it-work-for-you/

The NHT has reviewed its loan limit and plans to increase it to improve affordability for contributors. As of July 1, 2023, the general loan limit for a single applicant will be $7.5M, up from $6.5M, and up to $8.5M can be accessed for a housing solution priced at $12M or less. Joint applicants will be able to access funding of up to $15M, while three co-applicants will be able to access funding of up to $21M. The changes are intended to incentivize affordable housing development and improve affordability for low-income earners.

Excerpt from the Prime Minister’s contribution to the Budget Debate 2023.

A new income band has been added for persons who earn over 100,000 a week. As shown in the table above, those persons can access a NHT benefit at a rate of 5% but the rate below that ranges from 0 – 4%. The majority of NHT contributors (66%) are eligible for mortgage financing at 0% interest, while less than 8% will fall into the new 5% rate band.

You can read the full speech given by the Prime Minister here: https://jis.gov.jm/media/2023/03/FINAL-PMS-SPEECH.pdf

To calculate how much your monthly payments will be, use my updated dynamic Mortgage Calculator that now allows you to select whether or not it is a single or joint application as well as the interest rate you would get based on your income band. Go to https://financialcentsibility.com/calculators/ Mortgage Calculator.