6 months ago
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Following the launch of its prefabricated modular home in May last year, DM Equipment Limited has only sold two of the units so far – one each in Lucea, Hanover and May Pen, Clarendon.
However, the company remains optimistic that Jamaicans will take up the units in the near future once they get over the idea of modular homes as a novelty.
“People are sceptical about new things. We are still trying to convince people that it’s a house that can be for them,” Joshelle Campbell, project manager at DM Equipment told the Financial Gleaner.
DM Equipment, a subsidiary of Zoukie Trucking, partnered with Smart Haves Distributors Limited, to sell and assemble the units in Jamaica.
The 420 square-foot, two-bedroom home space costs $6.5 million, before the installation of utilities such as water, electricity and sewage, as well as transportation, and can be assembled in two days, the partners say.
Materials used in modular homes include concrete or cement, wood, metal, glass and vinyl. The company offers a one-year warranty, but the service life of the unit is 50 years.
Campbell said persons are showing interest in the homes but are not fully convinced that the purchase would be worthwhile.
“People are not used to the material. They are used to concrete and steel. It’s a new concept of a home to them,” she said.
One hurdle in the way of ownership of the modular home is that the purchases must prove ownership of land for the unit to be placed there.
Campbell said it is possible that the home could be moved to another location if the owner so desires. Transportation and offloading costs vary according to distance and location, she added.
For example, the unit placed in Lucea cost an additional $1.2 million because of the distance from Kingston and the terrain on which it was placed.
“It was a very steep slope, so we had to use a larger crane,” Campbell said.
In contrast, placement of a unit on a flat piece of land in nearby St Catherine could cost as little as $200,000, she added.
It may be some time before modular homes make an impact on the low-income housing market, although they are cheaper than the residences brought to market by the National Housing Trust, NHT, a state agency tasked with delivering affordable homes to Jamaicans.
In the meantime: “We will do some more advertising to spread the word,” Campbell said.
In March last year, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced that NHT would commence construction of 15,009 housing solutions for middle and low-income persons in the current fiscal year, comprising 4,309 two-bedroom homes, priced below $13 million; 7,600 one-bedroom units, priced below $10 million; and 3,100 serviced lots, priced below $4 million.
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