The pilot program for the Bonaire Mortgage Guarantee (Hypotheekgarantie Bonaire, HGB) has not achieved the desired outcomes, according to an evaluation by Economic Bureau Amsterdam. Between 2021 and 2025, only 17 guarantees were issued. The pilot was designed to provide households with greater security when taking out mortgages through the Dutch National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG) and was also expected to stimulate the island’s housing market. However, fewer than 4 percent of property transactions involved the use of HGB.

The program proved insufficiently effective because it did not address the core challenges of Bonaire’s housing market. The primary issue remains that incomes on Bonaire are lower than in the European Netherlands and mortgage interest rates are higher, despite property prices being roughly comparable. For those whose borrowing capacity is primarily constrained by income, the HGB offers no solution. In fact, the higher benchmark interest rate used in the HGB further reduces their borrowing capacity.

Since the pilot’s nature does not resolve the housing market’s structural problems, no measures are currently under consideration that would significantly boost HGB adoption. Potential improvements, such as abolishing the higher benchmark interest rate or aligning the maximum property value threshold with that of the NHG in the European Netherlands, could modestly increase usage. Alternative policies, such as building more affordable housing (e.g., through the Woondeal initiative), improving housing allocation for vulnerable groups, and introducing starter loans (startersleningen), are seen as more promising solutions than HGB. Expansion of the HGB to Saba and Sint Eustatius is not under consideration at this time.