Bonaire mortgage guarantee extended to homes up to $305,000
More buyers can now apply for a mortgage with a Bonaire mortgage guarantee (BMG). As of May 1st, 2024, the ceiling will be raised from $225,000 to $305,000 to better match house prices on Bonaire. With the mortgage guarantee, buyers can get a loan for the full purchase price, which means they will have to put up less savings. The BMG also provides buyers with a safety net if they run into financial difficulties due to personal circumstances. The guarantee is set to improve access to owner-occupied housing.
New ceiling better fit for house prices
Homebuyers have been able to apply for the mortgage guarantee since 2021, made possible by the government, Nationale Hypotheek Garantie (NHG) and Maduro & Curiel's Bank (MCB). Buyers can visit the website of the Bonaire Mortgage Guarantee to see if they qualify for the guarantee.
NHG noted that relatively few BMG mortgages had been issued so far, possibly because homes priced below the old ceiling of $225.000 are rare. The ceiling will therefore be raised to $305.000, As a result, the mortgage guarantee now applies to a larger part of the available housing stock on Bonaire.
Affordable housing for more people on Bonaire
The mortgage guarantee is a pilot. This pilot has only been rolled out on Bonaire, as this was the only island with a bank that met the BMG requirement of being supervised by the Dutch Central Bank. The mortgage guarantee is one of the measures introduced by the Dutch government to improve the affordability and availability of housing in the Caribbean Netherlands. The Mortgage Guarantee programme will be assessed after five years, after which a decision will be made on its continuation.
The housing deal
Bonaire's Executive Council and Hugo de Jonge, Minister of the Interior, also signed a housing deal for Bonaire in 2023, committing to the goal of building more than 2,100 affordable homes by 2030. The Bonaire housing deal stipulates that an affordable owner-occupied home is one that costs no more than the BMG ceiling. The increase in the HGB ceiling means that the maximum price of an affordable home will also increase to $305,000.