Mizizi Africa Homes Chief Executive Officer (CEO), George Mburu has commended the Government’s move to set aside prime land for free to private developers which will help to significantly lower overall cost of home-ownership in Kenya.
Mburu lauded the move saying it will accelerate construction of affordable housing units and fix housing gaps by bringing more Kenyans into home-ownership.
“This will be a big relief for private developers as the cost of putting up units will reduce significantly since land takes up the largest share of construction costs and this is also dependent on location of land,” said Mburu.
The CEO added that the cost of land takes anything between 30-70 percent depending on the location and cost of the development and consequently, consumers will be the biggest beneficiaries as these reduced cost benefits are passed to the buyers.
“The impact of this deliberate effort is huge with its ripple effects set to be felt across the real estate industry, manufacturing and financial sectors in terms of increased activities and money circulation into the economy,” he reiterated.
President William Ruto during the launch of the Listing of Laptrust Imara real estate investment trust (REIT) at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in March 2023, said County governments have already donated to private developers more than 4,000 acres valued at Sh30 billion for construction of affordable housing.
Mburu noted that the move will also spur economic activities in the counties and open up sleeping towns to create more jobs for residents and income to the government.
Kenya’s annual housing demand is estimated at 250, 000 units but the market has been supplying just 50,000 new houses every year, leaving an 80 percent deficit.
By Michael Omondi
