Affordable housing drive enters Oyugis, Kendu Bay and Mbita towns
A total of 5,000 affordable housing units will be set up in Oyugis, Kendu Bay and Mbita towns in Nyanza region as President William Ruto intensifies the push to implement his signature campaign promise.
In his two-day tour of Nyanza region, Dr Ruto is expected to launch the first phase of 5,000 affordable housing programme in Homa Bay County, which has already set aside 11.8 acres for the affordable housing project.
According to the 2019 housing and population census, Homa Bay County has a population of about 1.2 million people.
Dr Ruto’s flagship housing programme across the country is billed to give rise to jobs as thousands Jua Kali players are expected to be contracted to supply various housing parts such as doors, windows, gates, and hinges.
At the moment, at least 39 counties in Kenya have set aside land where the housing units will be set up, a dispatch from the State House noted.
Currently, Kenya is grappling with a housing deficit of 200,000 units per year and an accumulated deficit of over two million houses.
Dr Ruto’s administration has set out to deliver nearly 600,000 housing units across Kenya spread over roughly 376 projects.
On account of its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Kenya’s real estate market has grown exponentially in the last 20 years.
Real estate’s contribution to GDP surged from 10.5 percent in 2000 to 12.6 percent in 2012, 13.8 percent in 2016, and 20 percent in 2021.
With an average rental yield of 12 percent for unfurnished units and 20 percent for furnished units, Westlands, Lavington, Kilimani, and Kileleshwa in the capital city Nairobi contribute the biggest share.
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However, these housing projects in the city suburbs have largely been out of reach for a majority of buyers, prompting the government to step in and build affordable houses for the majority of Kenyans across the counties even as the government strives to eradicate slum settlements.
“We’ll provide spacious, comfortable, safe, secure, and affordable housing for police,” Dr Ruto said during the passing out parade of police officers in Nairobi.
Kenya’s improving state of infrastructure, utility connections, airport upgrades, stable GDP growth, as well as rapid urbanization have made investments in the real estate sector a lucrative venture.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, three and four-bedroom homes accounted for the bulk of Kenya’s real estate market between 2010 and 2015.
With a rapidly growing population that is driving urbanisation at the county level, and an expanding middle class, the residential segment has experienced the biggest demand, a factor the Kenya Kwanza administration wants to tap into drive the affordable housing plan.
