Kenya: Real Estate Contributes to 12% of the GDP Says Daniel Ojijo

Daniel Ojijo, CEO of Villa Care and Executive Chairman at Homes Universal, gives his assessment of the real estate sector in Kenya.

“The real estate sector in Kenya is currently undergoing a lot of activity. There is a good deal of demand in the market, which is being fuelled by a rising population, and in particular by an expanding middle class. The government has also invested heavily in infrastructure that has opened up many town centres outside the city, so we are witnessing buoyant demand. A good deal of development is taking place, in spite of which supply is unable to meet demand, firstly because interest rates have gone up, together with land values, which has led to developers putting up fewer developments, in turn causing the price of units to become unaffordable. As such, we are seeing a market that is vibrant and yet not sufficiently provided for. Regarding this shortage of housing, the government projects that there is demand for around 200,000 homes every year, but the private sector is only able to deliver around 30 to 40 thousand. This makes for a very large supply gap every year. Because of these challenges, we find that there aren’t enough homes to be offered on the market. Nonetheless, I would say that there is a lot of vibrancy in the real estate sector at the moment, and it contributes significantly to the economy. Last year, the sector contributed to over 12% of the GDP, and it is currently the 4th largest contributor to economic growth”, says Daniel Ojijo.