A majority of Bermudians would support having low cost or prefabricated houses ?in their backyards?, according to a recent poll conducted for .

The finding seems to contradict claims by Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent that many residents are ?NIMBYs?, or say ?not in my backyard?, when it comes to affordable housing.

Mr. DeVent has been embroiled in a fight with residents of Mary Victoria and Alexandria Roads in Devonshire over plans to add more homes in their neighbourhood.

The poll, conducted between September 6 and September 11, showed that 53.9 percent of those polled are very likely or somewhat likely to support the installation of emergency or prefab homes in their neighbourhoods while 46.1 percent were somewhat or very unlikely to support it. And a larger majority of persons questioned ? 68 percent ? said they were very or somewhat likely to support the construction of low cost housing in their neighbourhoods, with the remaining 32.1 percent somewhat unlikely or very unlikely to support it.

People between the ages of 36 and 54 were mostly likely to support the construction of prefabs, with 62.5 percent saying they were somewhat or very likely to back it, while 57.5 percent of people who were 55 or older were somewhat or very unlikely to support the idea.

The amount a household earned did not affect whether they supported pre-fabs in their backyard as majorities in all income groups said they were likely to support it.

Support for pre-fabs was found across all racial backgrounds, with 52.5 percent of all black people and 52 percent of all white people surveyed very or somewhat likely to support installation.

While 19.8 percent of blacks were very likely to support pre-fabs, 15 percent of whites were. Asked if they would support the construction of low cost homes in their neighbourhoods, people aged between 36 and 54 were most in favour, with 74.8 percent in that age group were very or somewhat likely to support it.

Again, the age group least likely to support the idea were over 55, with a still strong 60.8 percent very or somewhat likely to support it.

Over half of homes earning over $100,000 ? 67.5 percent ? were somewhat or very likely to support construction of low cost homes in their area compared to 71.7 percent of people with household income of between $50,000 and $100,000 and 71 percent of those with household incomes of less than $50,000 felt the same way. Sixty-nine percent of black homes and 61.4 percent of white homes were somewhat or very likely to support the idea.

A total of 398 people were polled in the Research Innovations telephone survey which was conducted between September 6 and September 11. The margin of error for the poll was 4.9 percent.