Jersey’s Housing Minister will next week join a panel of property professionals, housing providers and a political rival at a live event exploring whether the island is still in the midst of a housing crisis – and, if so, what needs to be done to resolve it.
Housing… crisis averted? will take place at the Pomme d’Or Hotel at 5pm on Wednesday 23 April, offering islanders a chance to hear directly from the Minister shaping housing policies, and those responding to their consequences on the ground.
The event is being hosted by All Island Media – parent company of the JEP and Bailiwick – and sponsored by Tenn. It will follow a Question Time-style format, with the discussion shaped by questions submitted by the public.
Joining Deputy Sam Mézec on the panel are
- Michael Van Neste MBE, Jersey Homes Trust
- Captain Alice Nunn, of the Salvation Army, who brings first-hand experience of housing precarity and homelessness
- Harry Trower, Director of Broadlands estate agents
- Deputy David Warr, former Housing Minister
- Matt Watson, CEO of Tenn Capital
The panel will explore a wide range of themes – from affordability and supply to regulation, homelessness, the role of landlords, and the broader vision for Jersey’s housing system.
Ahead of the event, we want to hear what YOU think… Is Jersey still in a housing crisis?
Now you’ve had your say, here’s what some of our panellists thought:
Housing Minister Deputy Sam Mézec
“We most definitely are.
“Ask a tenant if they are getting rent increases annually in their contracts, because that’s what the contract allows for, whether that makes their life easier or harder. It obviously makes it harder, and we’ve seen in recent years, hundreds of locally-qualified islanders leaving. That’s probably largely Jersey-born people – I would imagine a lot of that will be younger people who have looked at the outlook on the island and simply don’t believe that they’re going to enjoy the kind of prosperous future that they’d like to or that they could easily experience somewhere else, where it’s cheaper.
“I think we’re seeing green shoots. You know, we are seeing house prices coming down. Last year, they came down by the biggest amount in a single year since records began. We are seeing government initiatives beyond anything that we were looking at five years ago that are clearly aimed at helping people like [government-backed assisted purchase home ownership scheme] First Step, which has been really popular, and we got lots of positive feedback from.
“And with a… Jersey-moderate version of rent control now on the agenda, I think that that will start turning people’s perceptions around and start feeling like, ‘Actually, life might actually be getting better in Jersey, rather than worse’, which is what it has felt like for a long time.”
Listen to a full podcast interview with the Minister, who speaks in depth about his residential tenancy reform proposals, here.
Michael Van Neste MBE, Jersey Homes Trust
“Absolutely nothing’s really changed very much from when we first started to talk about the situation as a ‘crisis’.
“And I don’t see any crisis measures having taken place, and we’ve still got all the same problems that we had when we first of all said it’s a crisis. So certainly I believe we have a crisis.
“…It’s probably worse now than it’s ever been, in that you have a whole section of the community that feel they can’t aspire to own a house or even to pay affordable rent, and these are people who are working in the island with good jobs, and younger people are leaving the island. Now, that’s anecdotal, but I believe that’s still the case, and I believe it’s a great, great problem.
“I’ve never known in as bad as it is now.”
Listen to a quick-fire podcast interview with Mr Van Neste here.
Harry Trower, Broadlands
“You have to define ‘crisis’ because if it’s a crisis with the lack of stock then no.
“There’s been more properties on the market now than there has been in a very, very long time.
“If you define ‘crisis’ as the fact that people are struggling to afford to buy a house, then, yes, there is a bit of a crisis.”
Listen to a quick-fire podcast interview with Mr Trower here.
Deputy David Warr, former Housing Minister
“I think the word ‘crisis’ is a very strong term – and I’m sure people have views about that. What happened is, there was quite a dynamic change in the housing crisis, if you want to use that term.
“When I took over, it was zero interest rates. People who had money didn’t have anywhere to put that money, and they saw investing in a home, or investing in a house, as a way to keep the value of that saving up.
“The restrictions on that were not limited – they were unlimited, as it were – and that drove house prices up that made average person on the street absolutely unable to afford the purchase of a new home.
“Then, what I would describe as a commodification of housing – it became very apparent that that was happening.”
Listen to a quick-fire podcast interview with Deputy Warr here.
The latest housing statistics
- The average price of a house was £589,000 last year compared to £636,000 in 2023 – a reduction of over £40,000.
- 2024 saw the largest annual decrease in price since at least 1986
- According to the government’s latest quarterly report, 295 islanders sought help for homelessness between October and December 2024
- Private rental prices were 1% lower compared to the year before in Q4 2024
Click to find out more about the event, which is free to AIM Plus subscribers.
