Period: July 27 to August 2, 2015

Growth in housing market declines

28/07/2015: Business Daily,  Page 19

• Home prices have increased by about 0.2% causing a slow uptake of home loan which is likely to continue throughout the year.
• This decline has been caused by rising lending rates and inflation amidst tight liquidity

Why gated community are becoming popular

28/07/2015: Business Daily,  Page 18

• Workers who access financing on friendly terms do not want the hustle of buying land and going through the construction process.
• Most people are opting to work from home thus home office with wi-fi and gym is a standard requirement. Such facilities are provided for in a gated community setup.

Poor workmanship is one of the main challenges in Real Estate Development

28/07/2015: Business Daily,  Page 18

• There is shortage of good masons, plumbers and electricians in the market and thus there is a lot of repeat works which erodes up to 50% of profits.
• This is attributed to a decline in the number of technical colleges in the country.

Drivers of the house prices changes

28/07/2015: Daily Nation, page 15 & Daily Standard, page 36

• Size of the house inferred from plinth area, number of bedrooms, DSQ and the like.
• Location of the houses: People are preferring gated communities since they are convenient and security
• Demand for Apartments among the middle class is higher than that of bungalow and maisonettes as they are relatively affordable, thus higher increase in prices.

Shilling fall to continue

28/07/2015: Daily Nation, page 32 & Daily Standard, page 38

• Shilling value has declined by 11.5% for the past 12 months.
• It is anticipated that the worsening inflation might affect the prices of food and fuel which is a sign of tough times for Kenyan economy.

World bank eases its rigid procurement rules to speed up projects

28/07/2015: Daily Standard, page 38

• The world bank will allow any contract award decisions to be based on criteria other than lowest prices including qualification and suitability.
• Procurement will be speedier as prior review of contracts will be limited to those with highest risk and highest value.

Between 2000-2014 Property values in Kenya rose by a stunning 357%

30/07/2015: Daily Nation, DN2 Magazine, page 2

• A relatively investor friendly law allowing foreigners to own land and property by guaranteeing them government support and protection ended up attracting many foreign investors in Kenya’s real estate industry.
• Prices of property has increased especially in prime areas such as Kitisuru, Rosslyn, Nyari, Loresho and Eden.

Kenya has the highest growth rate in East and Central Africa.

31/07/2015: Business Daily, page 13

• The number of Kenyans and expatriates looking for housing are increasing by day thus contributing to this growth.
• In addition, the number of businesses looking for office space to buy and save on rent are also increasing.