NewsWhore
04-12-2011, 04:30 PM
The president of the Dominican Association of Housing Constructors and Promoters (Acoprovi), Fermin Acosta, said yesterday that the increase in interest rates is reducing the levels of property sales in the country. This year, the interest rates for mortgage loans have increased by more than one percentage point, leading many prospective homebuyers to postpone their purchases. Acosta told Diario Libre that association representatives have lobbied the Central Bank to request some control of the interest rates "because we are worried".
As well as the interest rates, the sector is affected by the increases in the cost of building materials and other factors such as transportation and fuel costs. Acosta nevertheless says that a downturn in construction has not yet occurred.
The businessman backed a proposal made by the Dominican College of Engineers and Architects (Codia) that the government should build 20,000 housing units a year to help reduce the million unit deficit in housing.
Acosta did acknowledge the speeding up of the process for securing the necessary permits from the Ministry of the Environment, as Minister Jaime David Fernandez and Acoprovi renewed the agreement between the two institutions. "Before the signing of the previous agreement, we used to celebrate the birthdays of projects here in the Ministry of the Environment", he told reporters. Processing environmental permits for construction projects now takes less than 60 days.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)
As well as the interest rates, the sector is affected by the increases in the cost of building materials and other factors such as transportation and fuel costs. Acosta nevertheless says that a downturn in construction has not yet occurred.
The businessman backed a proposal made by the Dominican College of Engineers and Architects (Codia) that the government should build 20,000 housing units a year to help reduce the million unit deficit in housing.
Acosta did acknowledge the speeding up of the process for securing the necessary permits from the Ministry of the Environment, as Minister Jaime David Fernandez and Acoprovi renewed the agreement between the two institutions. "Before the signing of the previous agreement, we used to celebrate the birthdays of projects here in the Ministry of the Environment", he told reporters. Processing environmental permits for construction projects now takes less than 60 days.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#7)