James Whitmee

I am in Port-au-Prince in Haiti doing a valuation of an upmarket residence and some land. There is system of land measurement here which I have not come across before and which is unique to Haiti. They have the "carreau" which is the equivalent of 12,900 sq m.

Port-au-Prince is a place of contrasts. The "tent cities" are still here, but today I have been looking at million dollar villas and up to $2.5 million. Some of these properties look like they could be in World of Interiors.

As one would expect, there a lot happening in the commercial sector. I looked at a good high bay warehouse today at Chateau Blanc near the US Embassy. It is under construction and has apparently been preleased to a NGO at over $13 /sq m /month!

The earthquake destroyed hotels and the Hotel Montana, which apparently was Port-au-Prince's best hotel, was completely flattened. The Karibe Hotel, which is now the city's best one, has had $2 million spent on strengthening it. There is clearly activity in this sector and I have just driven past a Best Western under construction in Pétionville.

In terms of new construction and repair to damaged buildings, the residential sector is much more patchy. Because there isn't a mortgage market house-owners were not under any third-party pressure to insure their buildings, and so most didn't. Therefore, homes destroyed in the earthquake are generally being left alone, as there isn't the money to rebuild them.

Here is a photo I took today showing the more elevated part of Port-au-Prince to the east, and where the hills start. It is from a residential area known as Vivy-Mitchell.