Cataño plans a housing task force as its population falls

A shrinking town and a housing plan

According to the column, the mayor's office will set up the task force by administrative order as part of a program of 90 actions in 90 days. The group will look for structures and spaces to build housing inventory, both for needs Cataño already has and to attract new residents.

The column frames the plan around population loss. Citing the US Census Bureau, the mayor wrote that Cataño had 21,701 residents in 2025, a drop of 6.3 percent, or 1,459 people, from 2020, and that 33 Puerto Rico municipalities lost 15 percent or more of their population in 60 months.

The new administration describes a home for every Cataño resident as a priority, the column says.

Homes for sale in Cataño

On October 16, 2026, Cataño had 25 residential properties actively listed for sale.

Sellers asked a median of $419,900 for residential property in September 2026. That median is an asking price, and it comes from a small sample of listings.

Rents and recorded sales

Renters had fewer listings to choose from than buyers. On October 16, 2026, Cataño had 17 active residential rental listings.

The median monthly asking rent across those rental listings was $1,000 in October 2026. That figure rests on a small sample and on a rent panel that draws listings from the wider region, and it measures what landlords ask, not what signed leases record.

Sales appear in the property registry once deeds are filed. Cataño's registry recorded 16 residential compraventa sales in October 2025, the latest month in that series, because deeds reach the registry late and the most recent year stays out of the count.

The next step the column announces is the administrative order that will create the task force.