Dr. Martin Pertab, head of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA), has highlighted a dramatic surge in demand for housing in Guyana.

Speaking at the Launch of the International Building Expo 2026, Dr .Pertab said housing applications between 2020 and 2025 rose by more than 200 per cent compared with the 2015–2020 period.

He pointed to sharp growth in Regions Three and Six, where applications jumped by about 344 per cent and roughly 297 per cent respectively; evidence, he said, of growing household incomes and rising aspirations across the country.

“These numbers tell a very clear story. Confidence is growing, income to arising and aspirations are expanding in support of our housing drive,” he said.

Currently, the government has been working to clear an existing backlog of more than 80,000 pending housing applications.

Clearing that backlog, Mr Pertab estimated, will require roughly 5,500 acres of land and nearly $30 billion in supporting infrastructure. To meet ongoing demand, the CHPA is targeting delivery of more than 40,000 homes over the next five years and will need to rely increasingly on purchased private land and higher‑density development.

“Much of our coastal land has already been allocated or developed, which means we can no longer rely solely on existing public land reserves,” he said, adding: “Going forward, we’ll have to purchase land from the private owners and open up new areas in other regions, which we have already started.”

He also cited recent supply figures to underline momentum, explaining that over the past five years, more than 50,000 house lots have been allocated, over 21,000 land titles processed and in excess of 2,300 homes constructed, alongside some 550 km of upgraded or new roads.

Pertab noted improving mortgage affordability with some lower‑income rates around 3–3.5 per cent and larger loans from about 5 per cent as a factor supporting the surge in applications.