How COVID-19 is affecting property

BY ROBERT UPE | PHOTOGRAPHS: GODFREEMAN KAPTIGAU

Edai Town is one of Port Moresby’s hot spots for affordable housing. Home ownership is growing among Papua New Guineans.

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The mass exodus of expats from Papua New Guinea because of COVID-19 has had a knock-on effect on the country’s real estate sector.

Vacancy rates in Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, have skyrocketed, especially at the higher end of the market, and rents have fallen by up to 50 per cent.

According to Brian Hull, Executive Chairman of Century 21 Siule Real Estate in Port Moresby, vacancy rates currently range between 30 and 90 per cent.

“There are vacancies everywhere (residential and commercial) and the prices are being driven down,” he says.

“We manage 130 units for one landlord whose rents from two years ago have come down from 3500 kina to 2000 kina per week,” says Hull, whose business has offered realty and property management services in PNG since 1973.

“Lesser units that were fetching 1500 kina are down to 900 kina or 800 kina,” he says. “The smart landlords are following the prices down. They’ve probably got a 30 per cent vacancy rate. We’ve got others (landlords) who won’t follow the prices down and they have a 90 per cent vacancy rate. Previously, there were waiting lists.”

Less than 500,000 kina buys a townhouse or a duplex. You can get a very pleasant house on land for that amount of money.

Hull isn’t confident that expats will return in any great numbers any time soon.

“The exodus of foreigners occurred due to fear of COVID-19 and their non-return can be attributed to ongoing concerns about the pandemic,” he says.

However, a positive side effect of fewer expat workers is that home ownership is growing among Papua New Guineans, especially those who have been promoted into positions previously filled by expats.

The biggest take-up is being seen in the affordable housing sector at places such as 8 Mile and Edai Town, where less than 500,000 kina buys a townhouse or a duplex.

“You can get a very pleasant house on land for that amount of money,” says Hull.

He says Bank South Pacific’s 40-year First Home Ownership Scheme Loan, with four per cent interest and 10 per cent deposit, is popular.

“It’s just wonderful, if you qualify for it,” he says.

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GLOBAL SALES FOR LOCAL ARTISANS

BY CARMEL PILOTTI | PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED BY REAL IMPACT

New life is being breathed into Papua New Guinean art and craft with local artisans selling their work worldwide, thanks to a campaign called Thousand Tribes.

The campaign is a partnership between USAID and REAL Impact. USAID is an international development agency and REAL Impact is a ‘profit-for-purpose’ company that partners, nurtures and grows SMEs into commercial success.

The campaign offers product development assistance for international markets, access to essential business resources, including capital, sustainable PNG certification, inclusion on an international e-commerce site and international tradeshow market access.

It’s a business model that is financially empowering PNG communities by reimagining and aligning their production with global supply chains and fashion trends.

The business model also leverages the new awareness of consumers around the world that their purchases have the potential to positively impact developing communities.

Among the artistans involved with the campaign is Marjorie Toyamina from Pacific Primitive Arts in the Trobriand Islands.

She works with weavers from her community to produce deep-fringed cushions, made from a combination of pandanus and coconut fibre, that perfectly capture the relaxed feeling of Pacific Island life.

The product appealed to highend designers and retailers when showed at the SHOPPE OBJECT trade fair in New York and was bought by designer Michelle Farmer, who has four retail outlets across New York and Florida.

REAL Impact CEO, Virginia Bruce, says: “The finished products, which connect centuries-old techniques with contemporary style, transport the end buyer on a journey to this remote corner of the world.”

Port Moresby-based designer Ian Jiji is another artisan involved with the campaign. Jiji specialises in screen printing and is the community leader of four women’s artisan groups in Oro Province.

REAL Impact has worked with Jiji for two years, initially developing a cushion range using original tapa cloth artworks.

The cushion range was also taken to SHOPPE OBJECT, with all samples sold.

Jiji and REAL Impact are now working on new colour approaches for the cushions, such as a simple black and natural palette, to appeal to the international market, while being respectful of the origins of the work.

Jiji says: “Seeing our tapa cloth turned into contemporary homewares empowers our community and instils great pride in the women creators.”

From over 550 applicants, the Thousand Tribes program is working with 29 SMEs in Madang, East Sepik, Southern Highlands, Enga, Milne Bay and NCD.

Papua New Guinean consumers can access the exciting new items at Brian Bell outlets.

Top: A ‘hippy chair’ by weavers in Ialibu is among the products being marketed overseas. Left: Ian Jiji’s tapa cushions were sold out at an international trade fair in New York.

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