Home ownership by residents in Cuenca high

A new study shows that 69% of homes in Cuenca are owned by the occupants. It is the highest rate of home ownership in Ecuador.

The study, which is intended to provide information to government planners, also showed that 86% of residential dwellings are houses; that 62% of homes are owned outright with no mortgage; that 60% of all dwellings have between 100 and 200 meters of living space; and that the average mortgage is $338 a month, while renters pay an average of $390 a month.

One surprise from the survey, according to its authors, is that only 3% of Cuencanos take advantage of the national Social Security mortgage financing. The Bank of the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (BIESS) offers mortgages to all its members at below market interest rates. BIESS offers mortgages of up to $125,000 25 year terms.

The study showed that 51% of household in Cuenca’s urban areas had Internet service but only 19% in rural areas of the canton did.

According to the Cuenca Chamber of Construction, the areas with the highest rates of residential construction are Av. Ordonez Lasso, Misicata, Challuabamba, Hospital del Rio, Ricaurte, El Valle and Monay.

Heavy rains cause damage, fill rivers

Heavy rain Friday night and early Saturday morning have caused extenstive flooding damage in the Bellavista and Sayausí neighborhoods in Cuenca.

In Bellavista, several retaining walls collapsed causing flooding in at least 20 homes. In Sayausí there was flooding of a number of household gardens as well as in the interiors of several homes.

The Cuenca city public works office said that dozens of drains were clogged by debris around town, causing temporary street flooding, especially on the north and west sides of the city. The Yanuncay and Tomebamba Rivers were near flood stage in several areas, particularly in the areas around Tres Puentes and the Jefferson Perez Coliseum.

The national meteorology office said that it expected seasonal rains to continue in Cuenca and the southern Andean region of Ecuador through April. Historicially, April is Cuenca’s wettest month, with average rainfall of more than three inches.