Over the past few months, and especially in the last few weeks, activities in the local housing market have been making the headlines.  The issue has also been a topic for debate around boardrooms, at local watering holes and also around dining room tables in many households throughout The Bahamas.

The central issue being discussed is what appears to be the unusually large number of families and individuals who are without housing (the local homeless); those who want a home but are not in a position to afford one (low-income renters); and those who had a home but are being expelled by the mortgagors for non-payment (the dispossessed).

The list of the homeless and potential homeless is growing.  A local financial institution recently listed almost 400 homes for sale representing mortgage loans that were deemed to be uncollectible.  Similar listings are reportedly in the pipeline at other banks, insurance companies and private lenders.

The banking system reports that several hundred million dollars of mortgages are in the category of non-performing loans.  Not to be outdone, the government's mortgage corporation, which was established precisely to make affordable homes available to the public, is reporting loan arrears approaching almost 40 percent of the loan book.  The corporation may also have to expel delinquent clients, adding to the growing army of the dispossessed.

A few years ago the social scientist, Abraham Maslow, advanced the argument that an individual cannot become self-motivated to move on in life and make a positive contribution to his society unless he first obtains, or is in possession of, basic self-sustaining needs such as safety and housing.

If Maslow is correct, then we may be heading for a crisis since more and more Bahamians are not participating in the economic mainstream because they are unable to meet their basic needs.  Some are genuine indigents and will never participate; others, because of changed economic circumstances (loss of jobs or reduced incomes) are no longer able to afford the basics.  As the numbers grow, perhaps the time has come to address the matter of the homeless as part of the national housing policy.

In the majority of western hemisphere countries, and in all CARICOM countries, citizens are virtually guaranteed access to primary and secondary education.  Indeed, few would argue against the general proposition that a country is more likely to reach its development potential if its population is well-informed and well-educated.

In other words, it is a matter of accepted public policy that the entire population should not only have access to the educational system, but the lion's share of the cost of that access should be borne by the state.  In a similar, but somewhat less widespread acceptance, the population's access to healthcare is regarded as a legitimate entitlement; also underwritten, for the most part, by the state.

Given the critical importance of housing to the well-being of the family, especially the children in the family, the provision of adequate housing for all citizens may, as a matter of policy, need to be elevated to a similar status as that accorded to the access to education and health.
No doubt there are serious questions to be considered in such a proposition as regards the resources needed and the extent to which the state could, or should, reasonably participate.  This does not mean that the state should build houses for everyone.  The state should work to ensure that policies are in place to meet desired objectives.

The central issue for consideration is this: should we as a nation sit idly by as more and more of our fellow citizens lose their homes and in some cases are forced to roam our streets at night in search of shelter?

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