Face-to-face with the sad reality of Kenya’s housing sector

Acting Housing Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i last week came face-to-face with the sad reality of Kenya’s real estate market: Most of the new housing projects coming up are out of reach of millions of Kenyans, including those who are well-paid and in the fabled ‘middle-class’.

Acting Housing Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i (centre) at the Suraya Property Group’s stand at the Kenya Homes Expo in Nairobi last week. Matiang’i wondered why developers are not putting up low-cost housing. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Before officially opening the 22nd Kenya Homes Expo at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi on Friday, Matiang’i took time to visit various stands. As he moved from one stand to another, the CS wondered why very few developers were interested in constructing homes for the lower segment of the market, where the real demand for housing is.