Seventeen players in the real estate industry have been feted at the inaugural East African Property Awards, a ceremony that brought players from the public and private industry to reflect on the snags hitting the industry.
The awards saw 90 submissions from 20 categories including best building innovation of the year, best property woman developer of the year, and best interior design company of the year among others. “The idea was inspired by the need to celebrate our very own who have surmounted numerous odds to keep the sector on the move. We are happy to have also used the platform to congregate various players to exchange ideas on the sector’s future prospects,” remarked Rita Oyier the Managing Director of the East Africa Property Awards.
“The high calibre of submissions we have received rubber stamps the fact Kenya’s realvestate is ahead of its regional peers in standards and quality. We are happy to say that the awards have set the bar higher,” said Architect Musau Kimeu Chairman of the East African Property Awards Adjudication Jury.
The event attended by Principal Secretary, Ministry of Lands Housing and Urban Development Ms Mariamu El Maawy, saw intensive reflections on the trends that have shaped real estate over the years and deliberations on the role of industry players in making affordable decent housing possible while making Kenya attractive to investors.
Developers who have had to grapple with exorbitant financing costs especially the spiraling cost of building materials and infrastructure have had to revise the cost of their developments upwards making them out of reach for millions of Kenyans. It is a fact that has made Kenya’s housing prices higher than continental average, dumping investor moods.
Locally, there is a 150,000 housing units deficit annually which is projected to rise to 2.9 million units in the next 10 years if the current conditions continue. This deficit will primarily be driven by lack of affordability. The alternative to home ownership in mortgages has equally been abysmal, with a paltry 20,000 mortgage accounts in the country with data from the World Bank indicating that only 2.4 per cent of Kenyans can afford a basic house mortgage. However, government led efforts to curb bank rates and reduce interest rate margins in the banking sector are yielding fruits, although the uptake remains far from comprehensive.
The introduction of the Kenya Bank’ Reference Rate at 9.13 per cent earlier this year will now see the country with a rate similar to those of the world’s most competitive lenders. Lenders have also been offered real sight, for the first time, of the costs of borrowing, with the roll out by the Kenya Bankers Association Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which calculates the true annual cost of borrowing, including all extra costs and charges.
These moves towards more moderate and visible finance pricing are set to stimulate a significantly greater level of mortgage uptake. An interesting shift in buyers’ preference for housing across the upper, middle and low end segments is now taking developers back to the drawing board in a bid to sate buyers’ appetite. While customers in the high end segment market have been keen on serene locations and elegance, the middle class demand has largely been driven by location, functional and social amenities.
The traditional notion that affordability meant compromising on quality by offering cheap materials coupled with poor workmanship has shifted as buyers in the low end segment demand for quality.
EAPA 2014 WINNERS
1.Watermark by Hass Consult Best Office Development of the year
2.Courtyard Vanga Road – by Spartan Developers-Best Apartment Development of the Year
3. Mt Kenya Holiday Homes Best Gated Community Development of the Year
4. DusitD2 Hotel , Nairobi Best Hotel Development of the Year Honorary mention
5. Hass Consult Best Development Marketing
6. BuyrentKenya.com Best Internet Marketing Portal of the Year
7. N-Soko Property Show with Janet Kanini Best Property TV Show
8. Kevin Oguoko – Standard Media Group Property Journalist / Blogger of the year
9. Wilberforce Okwiri – Standard Newspaper Best Real Estate Photographer of the Year
10. Koto Housing Best Building Innovation of the year (Honorary mention)
11. Hass Consult Best Real Estate Agency Firm of the year
12. Zuku Fibre / Wireless Best Property Telecommunication Partner of the Year
13. Hass Consult Best Property Website of the Year
14. Farhanna Hassanali, Hass Consult Best Property Woman Developer of the Year
15. Property Expert Magazine Best Property Publication of the Year
16. Azizi Interior Design Best Interior Design Company of the Year (Honorary mention)
17. Janet Kanini – Nsoko Property Show Property Personality of the year
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