Affordable Housing in Kenya

Housing is a Human Right in as much as air and/or water. Like food, even those who cannot afford it need it perhaps much more than those who can, because the latter could be in it for the investment returns. By its nature housing represents a major investment requiring a substantial capital outlay. In the majority of housing projects, the developer whether as a corporation or individual has to recognize the time value concept of money. This raises the rate of interest to reflect the high risk of lending.

Kenya’s GDP at about USD 11 Billion is reasonably large but is not growing at the rate that would be classified as booming. More critical however is the distribution of the national income. It could easily be said that 10% of the population controls about 90% of the resources available. That is a constrained economy, overcrowded at the bottom and very sparse at the top.

Also Read: Background to the Affordable Housing Strategy for the FSD Network in Kenya