The Kenyan population is growing exponentially with the latest census estimating the population of the country at over 53 million. Most of who are moving to urban centres to access job opportunities. This has created an urban housing crisis in major cities across the country with the capital of Nairobi the worst hit.
The current projection estimates that Kenya’s housing deficit is growing at about 200,000 units per year. This has created an urgency for the government of Kenya to deliver on housing, especially for medium-income households.
Affordable Housing Landscape in Kenya
Affordable housing is considered a dwelling which is within range of the of households with median income. Medium income in Kenya is estimated at about Kshs 21,000. Most of the Nairobians earning at or below the median income have no access to decent housing with basic amenities and end up in informal settlements which dot the city. To meet this demand, efforts are being made both on the government side as well as private entities to put up affordable units across Kenya.
The government of Kenya has also initiated an affordable housing program with an aim of delivering 500,000 affordable units across the country in collaboration with the private sector.
The plan is a three-pronged approach to address the housing crisis in various income levels with options to offer social housing for people earning under Kshs 15,000, affordable housing for those in the bracket of Kshs 50,000 and mortgage gap housing to address the needs of individuals earning up to Kshs 100,000.
The government has also shown commitment to these goals where allocation has grown from Kshs 6 billion to 27.2 billion over the last few years.
The Role of The Private Sector in bridging the affordable Housing Deficit in Kenya
The private sector Is playing a major role in meeting the demand for affordable housing units in the country if huge investments in affordable unit projects across the country are anything to go by.
A great example of such projects is the kshs 2.3 trillion Buxton housing project in Mombasa which is working on delivering thousands of affordable homes for the residents of Mombasa county and Burhani Engineers TG Kawa Apartments – affordable housing project.
Such massive investments from the private sector show investor confidence in the Kenyan affordable housing market as a viable business and will attract even more private investors to put up affordable units in Kenya.
Conclusion
Experts project that the private sector is most likely to play a larger role in meeting the demand for affordable units across the country. This growth will need to be supported with larger legislation from the government to put in place policies and systems aimed at lowering the cost of construction materials and also lower interest rates which will empower Kenyans to access cheaper mortgages to buy homes.
Key among other issues affecting the affordable housing program include:
- Over-reliance on bank loans is hindering the rapid growth of the affordable housing programs and alternative funding models like REITs will go a long way in jump-starting the development of affordable housing in Kenya.
- Government should also incentivize local developers to put up affordable units. Private developers will play a significant role in addressing the housing crisis and it’s in the best interest of the government to work with private parties by giving them an incentive the participate in the program.
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