Mortgage firms have shied away from writing housing loans mainly due to lack of long-term deposits in the industry to match them. “Urban housing currently remains unaffordable for most Kenyans due to cost of financing, the short loan tenures and the high cost of properties,” said Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank Kenya Country Director. “We believe that Kenya’s vibrant private sector offers an excellent opportunity to crowd in privately held skills and resources towards achieving the country’s Big 4 affordable housing goals.”President Uhuru Kenyatta has said provision of affordable housing is one of his four key priority areas in his second term and aimS at providing 500,000 affordable houses in five years. The National Treasury has disbursed Sh200m out of the Sh1.5bn that it pledged for the project while the other principal shareholders yet to release their contribution. A portion of the World Bank’s money will go into equity capital with the rest being used as initial cash reserve.

Source: Daily Nation May 01, 2019 20:48 UTC