Kibaki urges financiers to reduce mortgage rates

• Kenya has less than 20,000 active accounts in the mortgage sector
• Kibaki urges more local and foreign institutions to invest in the country’s real estate sector

President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday asked mortgage providers to offer affordable and flexible long-term credit that enable people construct homes and commercial properties.

Kibaki also noted that Kenya has less than 20,000 active accounts in the mortgage sector.

“The fact that the total mortgage market in Kenya has less than 20,000 active accounts is unacceptable for a thriving economy. The mortgage sector has massive potential for growth, especially among the low and middle income earners,” Kibaki said during the official opening of the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) Centre at Upper Hill in Nairobi.

Kibaki encouraged the local financial institutions to work with all relevant stakeholders to make mortgage financing available to more Kenyans.

He further urged more local and foreign institutions to invest in the country’s real estate sector which assured them of attractive returns.

Kibaki said the government has spearheaded a wide range of measures aimed at promoting the growth of the housing sector.

These measures included the continuous review and formulation of housing sector policies, legislative interventions and massive investment in infrastructure development.

“As a result of these measures, the annual supply of housing units has increased from 30,000 in the year 2003 to over 100,000. Indeed, the construction sector has played an important role not only in delivering well designed and high quality buildings but also creating much needed employment for our people,” Kibaki said.

Kibaki also noted that in order to spur further growth of the housing sector, the government is developing appropriate legislations, policies and regulations that include the development of a maintenance policy.

The policy is expected to culminate in the development of a national building maintenance policy and the preparation of Built Environment Bill that will, among other things, review existing laws and regulations some of which are outdated.

Kibaki said the policies and legislations will facilitate the delivery of quality houses in a clean and safe environment and make the housing sector lucrative.