Kenya’s largest bank unveils big plans for low cost housing

KCB Group has promised to go big on affordable housing ventures and step up efforts to assist Kenya’s low and middle-income earners to acquire homes.

The country’s largest bank by assets has officially unveiled a property centre – at Kencom House in Nairobi as it seeks to diversify its product and service offering in a bid to boost its revenue.

The Property Centre which will host its construction subsidiary will also offer a platform in which developers can showcase their property to potential buyers and tenants.

The construction arm, according to the KCB Group chief executive Joshua Oigara, will be an independent entity that can raise its own funds to build affordable homes.

“What we want S&L to do now is shape itself as an independent entity of the company that builds affordable houses. We want to build 10,000 houses in the next three years,” Mr Oigara said last year when he unveiled plans to convert the firm’s mortgage lending arm S&L into a construction company.

READ: KCB to build 10,000 low cost homes

KCB mortgage director Sam Muturi said the bank was keen to tap into the rising demand for low cost housing across the country.

“We are ready to broaden our wings to the existing opportunities to house majority Kenyans who feel left out by the high cost of housing,” he said.

KCB in January separated its mortgage lending arm S&L from its banking business as a precursor to the formation of a construction firm that will build low cost houses for Kenyans.

KCB hopes to ride on new technologies to build houses priced between Sh1 million and Sh3 million.

In February, the bank flew 30 local property developers to Brazil to expose them to Brazilian construction technology and modern architectural designs.

The lender hopes to attract a huge number of mortgage takers who are currently priced out of the market considering that the average mortgage loan stands at Sh8 million – a figure way above the reach for many citizens.

Despite the high non-performing loans in the real estate sector, KCB is still optimistic of good returns from mortgage lending.

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