New housing scheme to offer Crown land and mortgage support

Dr. Natalio Wheatley, Premier and Minister of Finance, has unveiled a residential housing programme that will combine Crown land, Government-funded infrastructure and mortgage guarantees to expand homeownership among Virgin Islanders.

In his 2027 Budget Address on October 27, Wheatley described a three-way partnership: Government would supply land and pay for roads and electrical connections, a developer would handle construction, and banks would provide financing backed by Government guarantees for qualifying buyers.

An architect will be engaged to give prospective owners a range of house designs to choose from. "For many families, their greatest ambition is a home of their own," Wheatley told Parliament. "We will partner with a developer for construction and banks for financing, with Government mortgage guarantees for eligible participants under agreed terms."

The announcement did not disclose eligibility standards, pricing, specific sites or the total number of units planned. The mortgage guarantees would be integrated into the overall financing structure.

The scheme complements the existing Land and Home Acquisition Programme, which will receive $1 million to upgrade roads and utilities on Government estates. That funding is intended to open up subsidised land for Virgin Islanders and Belongers.

Government will also maintain a one-year stamp-duty exemption for first-time Belonger buyers of residential property and land, within applicable guidelines.

"The security of home ownership should be an ambition more of our people can realise," Wheatley said.

The initiative builds on prior homeownership efforts. The Social Security Board developed Joe's Hill Manor Estate, a seven-acre site overlooking Road Town with 52 units comprising condominiums, houses and townhouses plus retail space. Entry-level pricing starts at $275,900 for a one-bedroom condominium, rising to $625,000 for a three-bedroom townhouse.

Since April 2025, the Social Security Board has allowed Ponce Health Sciences University to lease up to half of Joe's Hill Manor for its students and faculty under a Heads of Terms agreement.