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Kenya | Real Estate and Housing Sector

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#1 · (Edited)
This thread is dedicated to the boom in property (Real Estate) construction and lease in Nairobi and Mombasa and the fears/promises that might arise in future.

Kenya’s new property kings
By DAVID OKWEMBAH Posted Saturday, March 14 2009 at 22:01
In Summary

Influx of questionable foreign cash distorts real estate market and threatens to push ordinary people out of the housing sector
Money from abroad and Somalia shakes real estate sector, especially in Nairobi
Money from Kenyans living abroad and war profiteering in the region has flooded into the Kenyan property market, leading to a doubling of prices for land and houses and steep increases in rents, real estate experts say.

They attribute this trend in part to demand by non-Kenyans, most of them from war-torn Somalia. The areas most affected are Nairobi, Mombasa and other major urban centres where the price of land has more than doubled as property is sold long before it is ready for occupation.

And the increase in prices has not only affected upmarket areas but low and middle-income residential neighbourhoods as well. Findings by the Sunday Nation follow investigations by international security agencies that have discovered that millions of dollars reaped from piracy along the Somali coast and drug trafficking are finding their way into Kenya and other parts of the world through an intricate money-laundering scheme masterminded by international criminal syndicates.

The money-laundering, which also involves proceeds from tax evasion, has focused the attention of international security agencies on Kenya, which is being seen as a regional hub for the illicit activities. Areas of Nairobi most affected by the rise in property prices include Karen where the cost of an acre of land has jumped from about Sh5 million three to five years ago to at least Sh15 million today.
At Kilimani, an acre of land now goes for a staggering Sh70 million, with property valuers and conveyancing lawyers warning that the situation could get out of hand unless checked.

At Parklands, an eighth of an acre sells for Sh50 million, while at nearby Eastleigh, a similar piece is going for between Sh20 million and Sh25 million. Rents have also skyrocketed. In congested Eastleigh a two-bedroom flat that went for Sh10,000 two years ago is renting for Sh25,000 a month today.

At Nairobi West, a three-bedroom house was renting for Sh25,000 two years ago; today the rent is between Sh30,000 and Sh38,000. Real estate experts and lawyers say that much of the money that has flooded into the market comes from Kenyans, including Kenyan Somalis, living outside the country.

And some comes from businesspeople who have fled conflict in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. Many properties in upmarket Nairobi areas including Karen, Upper Hill, Kilimani, Lavington, Westlands and Parklands have changed hands at prices that in the recent past would have been considered outlandish.

Investigations by the Sunday Nation have established that the cost of 10 acres at Karen, which had been put on the market for at least Sh4.5 million an acre, was recently raised to Sh6.5 million when a Somali national made inquiries.

A Kenyan, who also asked not to be identified, was eyeing a property on Kirichwa Road in Kilimani, Nairobi. The bungalow on a quarter-acre of land had been advertised for Sh25 million. It was eventually sold for Sh35 million.


In Nairobi’s Upper Hill area, next to Hill Park Hotel, a prime property recently changed hands and has undergone thorough renovation. It was not possible to determine the cost; the building is now being leased as an office block. In the city centre, two prime plots, one on Loita Street and another next to the Uchumi supermarket near Koinange Street, are also said to have been bought by foreigners.

Timothy Njehia, managing director of Crystal Valuers, told the Sunday Nation that property in Nairobi has appreciated by more than 100 per cent in the past three years. “Remittances from the diaspora have spurred the market and pushed up prices of property by more than 100 per cent,” he said.

The skyline of Eastleigh, a former residential estate, has changed markedly in the past decade as multi-storeyed buildings replace single-level dwellings. “Somalis have pushed the prices of property to an all-time high in the past three years because price to them is not an issue,” James Katana of Green Leaves Properties, Mombasa, said.

He claimed that Somali nationals have taken control of major estates in Mombasa, like Nyali, Tudor, Old Town and Kizingo. “They are even demolishing most of the properties they are buying and building flats which they are converting into apartments and budget hotels.” He said most of the foreigners, mainly Somali nationals, buying properties in prime areas of Mombasa and Nairobi acquire them through proxies.

But a city lawyer involved in conveyancing, who spoke to the Sunday Nation on condition that he be not identified so as not to jeopardise some of his transactions, also attributed the rise in prices to remittances from Kenyans abroad and non-secured local bank loans. He said the increase in prices seen in areas like Eastleigh, Parklands, Kilimani, Nairobi West and Lang’ata was at least in part due to change of use determined by the city council from residential to commercial.

He said First and Second Avenues in Eastleigh have been converted from residential to commercial use, pushing up property prices on the two streets. He said the Somali and Asian communities in Kenya were well known for their entrepreneurship, especially in property conversion. But he did not say whether those buying were Kenyan nationals.

The lawyer said this was also true for Parklands, especially the road that runs from Forest Road cutting across to Highridge shopping centre. He said property prices along this road have more than doubled in the last five years as residential areas are converted to commercial use.

He said the same was true for properties on Ngong Road, Argwings Kodhek and Lenana Road, all in the Kilimani area. While the majority of properties in these areas were residential, they have now been converted into multi-family dwellings, and office and business premises.

Mr Njehia said that in areas like Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Lavington, the cost of building apartments has gone up. But he also suggested that the global credit crunch could soon hit the local property market. The valuer said the local market has started to experience stagnation since the beginning of the year when overseas Kenyans stopped remitting money.

“There is stagnation in the properties market, but the magnitude can’t be measured at the moment,” he said. A banker who cannot be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said banks had financed the cost of an estimated 500,000 houses since President Kibaki took over power in 2003.
But he cautioned that with rising inflation, many Kenyans who secured mortgages might start experiencing difficulties servicing their loans. He suggested that as many as half these houses might be repossessed because of inflation spurred by the global credit crisis.

International security agencies are also said to be concerned about the less-than-transparent acquisition of petrol stations and other businesses.
 
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#331 ·
Land ministry stops manual payment of fees, duties


Nicholas Muraguri, Land Principal Secretary. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The Land ministry has from today stopped all manual payment of fees and duties on property transfers and registrations, as it seeks to ease processing of land dealings.

Land owners will, however, have to liaise with land registries to have their properties validated and reflected on the online platform before being able to transact through eCitizen.

Transfer of ownership, land rent, rates, consent fees, registration fees, stamp duty, caveats and official land searches will all be done through the eCitizen platform.

The ministry had in January last year shifted land rent and official searches payments to the eCitizen platform.

READ MORE NATION ONLINE
 
#333 ·
35 private firms back Uhuru’s new homes plan

ounty governments will work in partnership with 35 firms in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Sh2.6 trillion plan to build a million homes in the next five years, officials have said.

Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Secretary James Macharia said 800,000 housing units will be delivered under the public private partnership (PPP) model and 200,000 under a social scheme.

The plan is part of efforts aimed at bridging the country’s housing deficit which stands at 1.85 million units.

“We have realised that this agenda cannot be fully implemented unless we have collaboration between ourselves, the private sector and county governments,” Mr Macharia said in Nairobi on Monday during the launch of the National Urban Forum.

In his re-election manifesto, President Kenyatta talked of building around 500,000 affordable units in five years.

Mr Macharia said 60 private construction firms have so far expressed interest in the project with the ministry shortlisting 35 based on merit.

The government is set to launch the scheme in a month’s time in Mavoko and upscale the project in counties.

“Nobody has Sh2.6 trillion in his pocket but there is money in this market. The idea is to leverage on the private sector to do affordable houses.


Continued here: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/economy/35-private-firms-back-Uhuru-s-new-homes-plan/3946234-4265168-14wmxph/index.html
 
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#334 ·
How State plans to deliver 500,000 homes in five years

Seems like the right guy for this job !!


HOUSING PS CHARLES MWAURA. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Housing principal secretary Charles Mwaura worked and lived in South Africa for nearly 20 years before he was plucked from his private sector job and given the senior public service job early this year.

The PS, arguably one of the sharpest brains in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, has set his sights on changing Kenya’s housing market and has spent the past couple of months setting the stage for what he promises will be a big shake-up of the status quo.

Indeed, changing the housing market is what Mr Mwaura sees as his mission in government and Kenyans are eager to see how he goes about doing it.

He spoke to the Business Daily about the policy and action plans in store.

Excerpts.

------------------

I hope you appreciate the mammoth task before you that is fixing Kenya’s chaotic housing sector. What in your assessment are the biggest impediments to the provision of decent housing in Kenya and what’s the way out?

It really is a question of availability and affordability. And it begins with the cost of land in Kenya, which is probably the highest on the continent. Construction costs are also high, partly because of the outdated building code in use.

We have for long stuck with traditional building materials, like stones, which take a lot of time to build and cost a lot more.

Third, our low demand, curtailed by lower purchasing power in comparison to a place like South Africa, has robbed the market of economies of scale. This essentially means that developers cannot do mass housing projects that would justify adoption of industrial techniques to produce standardised parts like doors and panels in bulk to lower costs. This too has affected project financing.

We, instead, see developers setting up only a few housing blocks at any given time, confident all the few units will be snapped up to enable them repay loans, but denying them economies of scale needed to drive down costs.

What can be done to address these challenges?

Also notice that property transfer in Kenya takes nine months to complete, if it’s mortgage, and six months for cash transactions. Here is a developer, who has set up units ready for sale, most likely on loan but cannot sell for the nine-month period. Remember he is probably already paying interest on the capital used to construct the units. This cost incurred during the waiting period becomes a pass-through charge on the eventual buyer.

So what are we doing?

The ongoing digitisation of property transfer transactions, along with the establishment of a one-stop shop for regulatory approvals, should cut transfers down to one month, maximum.

Second, we’re updating our building code to increasingly embrace new, low-cost and faster building techniques. Government-led land valuation exercises plus laws to discourage speculation will help check land prices.

Plans are also underway to service more government land with basic infrastructure like power lines, water and roads, to enable private developers and financiers to set up mass housing units under public private partnerships.

As I noted earlier, the country’s relatively lower purchasing power has discouraged investors from setting up mass housing projects. To resolve this, we have introduced an investors’ exit clause. We’re saying if you put up a number of housing units, and after, say five years you have not sold some units, the government will buy them at predetermined rates.

There are plans to build half a million decent, low-cost houses by 2022. When can we expect the groundbreaking?

In the next 90 days, we are going to break ground for our first project on Park Road in Nairobi. And in the next six months, our target is to break ground for 30,000 units just in Nairobi alone. That’s our commitment to Kenyans. The development framework for the projects is going to be released soon for public participation.

How much will the units cost?

Since the cost of land and infrastructure has been absorbed by the government, the units should be significantly lower than market rates.

READ MORE BUSINESS DAILY
 
#335 ·
The idea of using quarry stone for housing should be done away with. We should adopt the idea of framing construction methods where we use light gauge steel or timber to roll out hundreds of modern apartments.

This is how it’s done in the states and it’s truly a wonder how they’re able to build the apartments so fast literally a couple weeks and it’s done and people move in with barely any disruptions.

 
#336 ·
The idea of using quarry stone for housing should be done away with. We should adopt the idea of framing construction methods where we use light gauge steel or timber to roll out hundreds of modern apartments.

This is how it’s done in the states and it’s truly a wonder how they’re able to build the apartments so fast literally a couple weeks and it’s done and people move in with barely any disruptions.
Where would the timber and steel come from? We use stones because it is the most readily available and affordable building material. To use steel or timber would increase the construction costs. Also steel and timber frames mean you now require to add gypsum boards (drywall) or concrete blocks for the wall. Another increase in costs.
 
#344 ·
Question guys: Do you think its too late to jump in the real estate market?
I'm talking about mid-low income. Kasarani, mwiki, mlolongo, Thika rd, and such.
Any empty units in these high population areas?
Please opine.
 
#345 ·
I would not jump into it at this point esp as an individual investor. If the big4 is something to go by, then it makes this investment a bit risky. Remember plans are in high gear with only foreign companies(I dare say Chinese) cutting the list. We have many big dogs in Kenya and if they did not cut it, then it gives you an idea about the amount of cash lined up! Chinese don't play when it comes to mass housing. Check out a few new threads -8 blocks 34 stories planned for Ngara, 55 blocks - 15fl Jevanjee / Pangani, Tatu 10K low cost and a huge project planned for Mavoko(as per the WB plans) just to mention a few. This is just to give you a picture of the scale. Also remember most of these places ear marked for redevelopment are really close to the CBD. With free land given to the developers, great location and economies of scale, one has to re-evaluate whether you can compete in this space.

At the end it all depends on whether you think these projects will materialize or not. It's a gamble. ONLY reason I see these projects not happening is court cases. Cash wise- the deal is sealed! I would take a pause and dig for info to ascertain the exact number of units to be built/locations and map out viable pockets. Mlolongo I can tell you, could be tricky in the shorter term(5yrs) since govt owns the idle land in Mavoko, hence less chances of litigation.

That is just my take. I will send you an invoice.
 
#347 ·
Remember most of these houses will be up for sale. First few units will be snapped up fast, causing a quick spike on the onset and as more come in the prices will stabilize. From what I gathered is that there will be a rent to own program. Kenyans have a craze to own land and houses. Most people will move out from rentals and run to these homes - and speculative investors.

Watch this video from 20.00.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-27DNUgvuH8&t=17s

These guys seem like they know what they are talking about.Very impressed. Too bad they did not give them enough time.
 
#350 ·
Road to affordable housing agenda, health for all, now clear

NAIROBI, 22 JUNE 2018, (PSCU) — The agenda to build 500,000 low cost housing by 2022 is now clear with a breakdown being presented to a meeting attended by President Uhuru Kenyatta today.

Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia today unveiled how the government intends to implement the project starting with flagship projects that will be largely located within Nairobi city and its environs.

The Government has defined four levels of housing types with only three being the focus of the program.

The first type of housing identified is referred to as ‘Social’ and is targeted at people in formal employment earning a salary of less than KSh14, 999.

The second category of housing is the ‘Low Cost’ and is targeted at those earning a salary between Ksh15, 000 and Ksh49,999. This category represents 71.82 percent of Kenya’s formally employed workforce while the first category represents 2.62 percent.

The third category is called the Mortgage Gap and is targeted at those earning between Sh50,000 to Ksh99,999. This group represents 22.62 of the formally employed in Kenya.

The fourth category of houses, which the Government intends to have the private sector provide, is meant for the middle and high income earners who get more than Ksh100,000 per month and who represent 2.85 percent of the formally employed.

The housing projects have been divided into five lots with one lot covered in each financial year. Each lot is then broken down into flagship projects, flagship social housing projects, counties and towns and Nairobi County projects.

In the 2018 financial year, the Affordable Housing Program will focus on projects in Park Road, Muguga Green, Starehe A and B, Makongeni and more in Mavoko. The total number of units under this category will be 36, 640.

Another set of houses under the flagship social housing projects will cover Transitional housing, Kibera B, C and D, Mariguini and Kiambu. The total number of houses under this category will be 15,000

Another 67800 new houses will be built in Bahati, Maringo, Ziwani, Jericho, Lumumba, Gorofani, Bondeni and Shauri Moyo.

The meeting was also briefed on the preparations undertaken for the roll out of the Universal Health Care agenda.

Health CS Sicily Kariuki said the ministry has held a record 66 meetings with governors as part of the preparations.

She said an analysis of the needs and requirements has been undertaken and a process is ongoing to ensure registration of all Kenyans with NHIF is achieved.

The CS said the UHC targets 100 percent of the population of the country.
Source
 
#351 · (Edited)
These guys from CMAX might be part of the equation for building the 000s of homes planned for the big 4 ... these guys built 1000 homes in 9 months - previously they had built homes using the conventional/traditional method (stone and mortar) it took 3years to complete 590 apartments ...

here are some of the Police and prison's housing that they have put up - in 9 months - not very appealing - but a lot better than "accommodation" (some of those shacks cant be called apartments) some police personnel are living in now.
ps. This is an old video - from Mar2018



They are using EPS (Expanded polystyrene) technology - slightly different from the KOTO tech .. but generally the same thing - these guys use cement on the outside of the styrofoam - that's from my understanding ... i would build my house like this - its 20-30% cheaper and heck much faster ! --

12 min video from 2016 - i apologize if this has been shared prior ...

 
#352 ·
^^
Good development for sure for the police. At the risk of changing the subject, does anyone else wonder of impact created by this segregated living between Kenyan police and the general public? Police are civilians and should relate with members of the public. Living within the public that they serve gets them to understand the day-today issues within the public better. Not same for the military whose main purpose is external threats. To give an example, in the UK, we have police officers of all levels living with everyone else all the times.The Idea of keeping police officers in dedicated housing is old and colonial. Most ware foreigners and the job was to subdue the locals. They didn't even do it back in England then and they don't do it now either as the mandate is to work with the public that they serve.
 
#359 ·
Big ceremony for affordable houses set for December 11

From today's Daily Nation, page 8 (I couldn't find the online version):


Big ceremony for affordable houses set for December 11
BY SAMWEL OWINO


The groundbreaking ceremony for 500,000 affordable houses by the government will be held on December 11 at Parklands, Nairobi.

Housing Principal Secretary (PS) Charles Mwaura told a parliamentary committee the houses, which will be built in the next four years, will cost Sh1.3 trillion and are aimed at ensuring middle-income households have access to decent and affordable dwellings.

The PS told the National Assembly Transport, Public Works and Housing Committee that there will be three categories of houses that will be available to Kenyans depending on the level of income: social, low-cost and mortgage gap.

The social houses will be for people earning up to Sh14,999; low-cost (Sh15,000-49,999) and mortgage gap (Sh50,000-99,999)

One-bedroom houses under the social housing programme will cost Sh600,000, with those buying them expected to pay Sh2,500 per month for 25 years. Under the same house category, a two-bedroom house will cost Sh1 million, for Sh4,500 per month, while a three-bedroom house will go for Sh1.4 million, for Sh6,500 per month.

The houses will be located in all the 47 counties and will be constructed on both national and county government land.

The PS said the national government will have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with county governments for delivery of 2,000 housing units per year. Under the MoU, county governments will provide land while the national government will provide finances and capacity building.


Transparent system

Mr Mwaura told the MPs that the houses will be awarded through an affordable housing portal using a free and transparent system.

Members of the public will be required to register in the online portal, where they will be asked to indicate the preferred location of their houses and they will be provided with information on the type of home they qualify for based on their income.

According to the PS, some of the prequalification criteria to be used to award the houses will be income, family size, choice of preferred location of home, current assets owned and accumulated deposit.

“The system is designed to ensure every deserving applicant is allocated a house. However, it is expected that initially there will be significantly more demand than supply of affordable houses. In the event that an applicant is not allocated a house in the initial round of allocation, their names will remain on the waiting list,” Mr Mwaura said.

Big Four agenda

Affordable housing is one item on the Big Four agenda that President Uhuru Kenyatta has focused on in his second and final term in office. The other three are manufacturing, universal health coverage and food security and nutrition.

The passage of the Finance bill in September this year paved the way for workers to be deducted 1.5 percent of their monthly pay to finance the new low-cost housing.

In his last budget, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich proposed the introduction of a 0.5 percent statutory levy on employees' gross salaries with a monthly maximum of Sh5,000 for high -ncome earners and employers expected to contribute a similar amount for every employee to the National Housing Development Fund.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, formal-sector workers in low-cadre jobs up to the lower-middle income group earning between Sh15,000 to Sh49,000 account for 74.44 percent.

A further 22.62 percent are in the middle-income group that earns between Sh50,000 to Sh99,000.

Only very few Kenyans are in the upper-income group earning a salary of Sh100,000 and above.Big ceremony for affordable houses set for December 11
BY SAMWEL OWINO


The groundbreaking ceremony for 500,000 affordable houses by the government will be held on December 11 at Parklands, Nairobi.

Housing Principal Secretary (PS) Charles Mwaura told a parliamentary committee the houses, which will be built in the next four years, will cost Sh1.3 trillion and are aimed at ensuring middle-income households have access to decent and affordable dwellings.

The PS told the National Assembly Transport, Public Works and Housing Committee that there will be three categories of houses that will be available to Kenyans depending on the level of income: social, low-cost and mortgage gap.

The social houses will be for people earning up to Sh14,999; low-cost (Sh15,000-49,999) and mortgage gap (Sh50,000-99,999)

One-bedroom houses under the social housing programme will cost Sh600,000, with those buying them expected to pay Sh2,500 per month for 25 years. Under the same house category, a two-bedroom house will cost Sh1 million, for Sh4,500 per month, while a three-bedroom house will go for Sh1.4 million, for Sh6,500 per month.

The houses will be located in all the 47 counties and will be constructed on both national and county government land.

The PS said the national government will have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with county governments for delivery of 2,000 housing units per year. Under the MoU, county governments will provide land while the national government will provide finances and capacity building.


Transparent system

Mr Mwaura told the MPs that the houses will be awarded through an affordable housing portal using a free and transparent system.

Members of the public will be required to register in the online portal, where they will be asked to indicate the preferred location of their houses and they will be provided with information on the type of home they qualify for based on their income.

According to the PS, some of the prequalification criteria to be used to award the houses will be income, family size, choice of preferred location of home, current assets owned and accumulated deposit.

“The system is designed to ensure every deserving applicant is allocated a house. However, it is expected that initially there will be significantly more demand than supply of affordable houses. In the event that an applicant is not allocated a house in the initial round of allocation, their names will remain on the waiting list,” Mr Mwaura said.

Big Four agenda

Affordable housing is one item on the Big Four agenda that President Uhuru Kenyatta has focused on in his second and final term in office. The other three are manufacturing, universal health coverage and food security and nutrition.

The passage of the Finance bill in September this year paved the way for workers to be deducted 1.5 percent of their monthly pay to finance the new low-cost housing.

In his last budget, Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich proposed the introduction of a 0.5 percent statutory levy on employees' gross salaries with a monthly maximum of Sh5,000 for high -ncome earners and employers expected to contribute a similar amount for every employee to the National Housing Development Fund.

According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, formal-sector workers in low-cadre jobs up to the lower-middle income group earning between Sh15,000 to Sh49,000 account for 74.44 percent.

A further 22.62 percent are in the middle-income group that earns between Sh50,000 to Sh99,000.

Only very few Kenyans are in the upper-income group earning a salary of Sh100,000 and above.
 
#362 · (Edited)
Kiamumbi is not far from TRM.About 4-5km from there.It has relatively high population being midway between Kahawa West and Githurai.Jacaranda estate which was built by the Chinese is a kilometre away along Kamiti Rd and the flats sold well.That is my old neighbourhood and nowadays from Kahawa West to Kiamumbi to Githurai to Zimmerman flats are the norm.Not a bad neighbourhood shida tu ni zile za kawaida za Nairobi za maji,barabara.It was a good neighbourhood to grow up in though
 
#361 ·
Id say if you want to make a killing build in kahawa sukari or kahawa wendani, the huge population in kenyatta university usually runs out of hostels near the university since all of them run out and are usually willing to pay 8-11 k a month for a bedsitter, anything concrete. If the apartments are of modern quality say prefab chinese tech and throw in free wifi anyone can be a dollar millionaire if they capitalise on this opportunity fast. Very very huge demand.
 
#363 ·
House rents increase fastest in nine years

Hopefully this recovery keeps up.

Apartment rental prices last year rose at the fastest pace in nine years, boosted by double-digit increase in Nairobi’s Westlands, Langata, Parklands and Ruaka yields as the gap between demand and supply closed.

Realtors HassConsult’s 2018 property index indicated a sharp recovery in rental asking price for apartments in Nairobi in the last quarter of last year boosting the annual growth to 15.9 percent.

This outpaced the annual rental growth for semi-detached and detached houses, which stood at 12.6 percent and 3.7 percent respectively.

“The somewhat slower pace of apartment building in the last two years has finally seen demand catching up with the available space, lifting occupancy and driving apartment rents upwards sharply by November and December 2019,” said HassConsult head of development, consulting and research Sakina Hassanali on Thursday.

“Overall, apartment rental prices rose by 15.9 percent, which was the most marked rise since mid-2009…Detached house rental prices, however, continued to be affected by subdued global demand and the contraction in global grant-based activities.”

The average rental price increase across all property segments stood at 8.6 percent.
Asking rents for apartments in Westlands rose by 14 per cent last year, leading other suburbs such as Langata at 13.7 percent, Parklands at 13.5 percent and Kileleshwa at 9.4 percent.

Among the satellite areas, Ruaka saw the highest rental increase for apartments at 13.3 percent, followed by Thika at 12.5 percent.

While rental yields rose sharply however, growth in sale prices for apartments remained relatively low, at just 2.9 per cent.

Sales prices across the other segments was more pronounced, going up by 9.5 percent for semi-detached and 9.7 percent for detached houses.

Ms Hassanali attributed this to the difficulty that first-time homebuyers—who would normally drive the apartment segment—face in accessing mortgages and home loans in the era of the rate cap.


SOURCE NATION ONLINE
 
#364 ·
Earlier today, I officially launched the Affordable Housing Portal http://bomayangu.go.ke a housing ownership link between the Kenyan public and the Affordable Housing pillar of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Big 4 Economic Development Agenda.
The http://bomayangu.go.ke Portal will, therefore, ensure that the benefits of this highly subsidized program accrue to deserving Kenyans fairly on a one house per household basis.
Registration to be part of the Affordable Housing Program can be done online at http://bomayangu.go.ke or at any Huduma Centre. I strongly urge my fellow Kenyans to register as soon as they can so that they are not locked out of this exceptional opportunity.


Source
 
#368 ·
Chinese group to build $2bn Athi River city plans​

A Chinese real estate group has announced plans to build a mega city in Nairobi’s Athi River area at an estimated cost of Sh200 billion, deepening the Asian nation’s inroads into Kenya’s construction sector.

Beijing Damei Investment Company, a Chinese construction giant, on Wednesday said the project -- dubbed the Friendship City -- will be modelled along the mega Chinese parks that comprise homes, factories and amenities like hospitals, schools and shopping malls all in one location.

The city, whose construction starts later this year, will sit on about 1,200 acres of land in Athi River, Businessman Bobby Kamani said Thursday, while disclosing that he has shareholding interest in the multi-billion-shilling project through his Zuri Group of companies. It is estimated that the city will have the capacity to host 150,000 Kenyans, many of who will live and work on site.

The Friendship City will have the status of a Special Economic Zone with a township and five separate functional parks within the property, documents related to the project have revealed.

It will attract an initial foreign direct investment into the country of approximately Sh201 billion (about $2 billion) with the potential of up to Sh756 billion (about$7.5 billion) by the time the entire development is complete, said Jiannan Bao, the director of the Beijing-based Damei Investment Company.
Direct employment

“There exists the potential of direct employment of 150,000 people whilst indirectly employing close to 500,000 people, thus impacting over 2,000,000 lives,” said Mr Bao in the project documents. The investors will enjoy tax breaks consistent with Kenya’s policy of special economic zone (SEZs).

“The major selling point of SEZs in Kenya is the tax shields offered within the confines of an SEZ. Particularly, from a tax perspective, SEZs are considered to be outside the customs territory of Kenya, thereby operating within a jurisdictional bubble that shields investors from taxes and similar regulatory hurdles that directly or indirectly impede trade,” said Mr Bao.

Thousands of acres of agricultural land have in recent years been turned into satellite cities with the developers hoping to tap into the aspirations of Kenya’s growing middle class.

Kenya has been seeking partnerships with the private sector to develop housing units, as the country looks to plug a housing shortfall of approximately 240,000 units per year.

The United Nations urban development agency, Habitat, estimates that more than half of Nairobi’s four million people dwell in slums.
A high demand for decent housing has seen developers conceptualise satellite cities such as Tilisi, Konza, Tatu City and Northlands.

Chinese companies have been the lead contractors in these and other multi-billion-shilling housing projects across the country, besides building hundreds of kilometres of tarmac roads as well as the Standard Gauge Railway between Mombasa and Naivasha.
Tatu City, which is already under construction, is expected to house an estimated 150,000 people on completion.
Vast interests

Zuri Group is owned by the Kamani family, which holds vast interests in the hospitality industry worldwide, including Zuri Hotels.
Bobby Kamani is the son of billionaire Deepak Kamani, who has been mentioned in multi-billion-shilling scandals involving State agency contracts including the infamous Anglo Leasing scam.

The Friendship City’s plan is borrowed from the Chinese urban development strategy. China’s economic reform and opening up in the 1980s began with “special economic zones” like Shenzhen in southeastern China.
Mr Bao said the Friendship City hopes to follow a similar path to growth.
 
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