It would take at least 30 years to build the number of new homes needed to accommodate Bermuda’s “utopia” population figure of 70,000, the Chamber of Commerce has suggested.

Such a population base, as calculated by the chamber using government population figures and targets, could require the creation of up to 5,000 new units.

However, the chamber recognised that an unknown number of houses are off the market and offered a conservative estimate of 2,500 new units required.

That figure would take 30 years to achieve if the island built new units at its present average rate of seven a month.

Marico Thomas, the chamber’s president, shared the information during “A Deep Dive into Housing“, the third in a series of events hosted by the organisation.

He told attendees that “blue-sky thinking” was crucial — and even floated the idea of buying a cruise ship to provide cheap accommodation.

It was highlighted that in 2022, when the Ministry of Economy and Labour announced that the island required an additional 8,400 people, the Government never specified an overall population target.

Mr Thomas spoke of a “utopia” scenario of just over 70,000 people and explained that the Registry General indicated the population base was 63,648 in December 2021.

With an additional 8,418 people, the specific target given by Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, the island would end up with 72,066 residents.

Mr Thomas said: “If that was the utopia number, what do we need to do? We would need potentially about 5,000 more units.

“There is an unknown number of dwellings that are off the market, which is why we estimate that number but conservatively suggest 2,500.

“It would be a shame to build based on something like 65,000 and then not have enough.”

In 2016, the number of households was said to be 28,192.

If the target population hit 70,000 people, that figure would increase to 33,654, he said.

The average number of people in a household has shifted from 2.26 people to 2.08, according to census data.

Mr Thomas highlighted that building permits were at “historically low levels” for new builds, with about five issued per month.

He told the audience he was aware of a cruise ship on the market. Later he told The Royal Gazette that it cost about $40 million, could carry 1,230 passengers and be paid off in three years.

“It could even be used as a temporary measure and be sold off after four or five years to make a profit,” he said.

The event at Speciality Cinema in Hamilton attracted a diverse audience, including policy planners, business leaders, non-profits and government representatives.

Among the attendees were Zane DeSilva, the housing minister; Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs; and Crystal Caesar, the Minister of Education.

The event was fully subscribed, with 120 in attendance, so the chamber organised two identical events following the morning session to accommodate demand.

Speaking on Bermuda’s population, Steven McGuinness, the chamber’s co-chairman, shared that in December 2024 it was reckoned to be between 56,667, based on “projected economic persons”, and 54,651, based on “estimated airport movement”.

He said the population now was likely about 15 per cent less than it had been in 2016.

Mr McGuinness said it begged the question, with less people, “where did the housing go?”

He explained that household sizes and the numbers of people occupying a household were in decline for various reasons.

He added: “Based on the 2016 census, for every drop in household size of 0.02 [people], that equates to 270 additional units required.

“That is why we can have a decreasing population yet still see demand for housing increase.”

Uninhabitable buildings and holiday rentals are only a small part of Bermuda’s housing crisis yet attract much attention in public commentary, the chamber said.

Mr McGuinness said there were fewer listings for holiday rentals now than pre-Covid, according to AirDNA, which collects data from sources such as Airbnb.

He said there were 136 fewer holiday rental listings advertised now compared with 2017, which Mr McGuinness said was likely driven by Covid and other constraints such as new taxes and rental management costs.

The average monthly revenue for a one-bed rental is $2,800, and $4,000 for a two-bed.

He said that, given the returns, along with licence fees of up to $2,500 per year, “this implies that a number of the rentals are for flexibility rather than profit”.

Mr McGuinness said that uninhabitable housing was rare, based on assessment number statistics.

There were 292 buildings as of May 2025, representing less than 0.9 per cent of the total housing market.

“It looks bad on the eye and can stand out but most of the time we see less than 1 per cent that are uninhabitable,” Mr McGuinness said.

There were 300 more properties removed from the valuation listing, some of which were demolished between 2016 and 2025.

Three quarters of apartments were covered by rent control, he said.

He added: “That begs the question, does that incentivise someone to build an apartment?”

Mr Thomas said many pinned the blame for the housing crisis on the Government but suggested Bermudians should look closer to home.

“Maybe the fault is that we Bermudians took advantage of a moment and built wealth, and there came trade-offs, compromises and unintended consequences.”

He said going forward, the conversation should be “not about fault but about function”.

“A problem exists, it’s serious, it’s growing and the data, while imperfect, is enough.

“We need to take what we know, make sense of it and figure out what we are going to do about it.”