Kisumu gears for a second homes expo

By Mangoa Mosota

The lakeside city opens its doors later this month for its second homes expo. The exhibition aims at encouraging locals to embrace mortgages, to help arrest the biting house shortage.

The three-day event will be held from March 25-27, with Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Housing Minister Soita Shitanda scheduled to grace the occasion.

The event comes against a backdrop of a grim housing situation in Kisumu where according to statistics over a half of its population of 500,000 live in slums. Thus, over 300,000 people live in informal settlements, which are congested and lack basic services such as water and proper sanitation.

The situation has been exacerbated by the slow growth of real estate development in the area availing only limited decent houses. The annual demand for housing stands at 3,000 units, while only 500 units are supplied annually meeting only a mere 17 per cent of the demand.

This deficit has led to high costs of renting houses, with some areas letting for prices higher than Nairobi.

This situation has nudged Navic Communications to organise the event. The firm’s team leader Aba Eban says they want to showcase the lakeside town as an area, with a lot of potential in property investment.

ANTICIPATED DEMAND

"The Kisumu airport expected to be completed this year and the integration of East African Community will increase the demand for decent housing," says Eban, adding this year’s theme is Unveiling potential.

Property dealers have decried the rising cost of renting space both in residential and commercial houses. "Three years ago, the monthly rent of a two-bedroom house in Polyview Estate was about Sh8,000, but right now it is an average of Sh12,000," says Tom Agumbi, the proprietor of Tom and Associates.

He says the increase of rent by almost 50 per cent is a result of a rise in middle class as new jobs are secured in the area. This was partly encouraged by many banks and universities campuses opening up in Kisumu.

In the last five years, the number of banks has risen from about five to about 20, with five universities opening campus in the town.

Agumbi says the housing shortage has been worsened by the fact that locals are averse to bank loans and as a result the need to enlighten them of the role of mortgages in the path to acquiring decent housing.

"Banks have to come up with special products for property development. For instance, acceptance of title deeds as collateral from customers from where they can build houses," says Agumbi.

Growth

A majority of last year’s exhibitors were bolstered by their participation and are looking forward to showcasing their products and services again this year.

Vinod Patel, the proprietor of Skylark Creative Products says through the exhibition, investors will gain knowledge on the new building products in the market.

"There are several products in the market that customers are not aware of," says Mr Patel, adding that after participating in last year’s expo, his business had grown by 25 per cent.

Crown Berger Paints is sponsoring the event. The firm’s Sales Manager for Western region, Pramod Tiwari, says the sponsorship is part of their effort to support the growth of the property sector in Kisumu.

Several challenges discourage prospective real estate investors from venturing into Kisumu town. Almost 50 per cent of residential houses in the area are built on sewage lines, making it difficult for the Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company to run the system.

In addition, Kisumu Municipal Council says several acres of undeveloped land were illegally allocated to individuals in the town. This has compromised space for construction of residential houses.