What you need to know about mortgage and home ownership

Home ownership in Kenya has remained relatively low at 21.3 per cent in urban areas compared to other developed countries such as South Africa at 53.3 per cent.

The relatively low rate of home ownership in Kenya is attributed to; high property prices, high initial transaction cost such as the initial deposit required to access mortgage, lack of credit risk information for those in the informal sector leading to their exclusion, high interest rates for mortgage loans, lack of real estate finance to fund large scale developments, and low income levels which has made it hard to service loans.