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Kenya: Press Releases: KCB and NHC Sign Mortgage Finance Agreement |
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Wednesday, 08 September 2010 |
Nairobi, 7 September 2010 --- S&L Mortgages, a division of the KCB Group, has today signed a partnership agreement with the National Housing Corporation (NHC) that will facilitate the construction and sale of over 770 housing units in Nairobi.
Under the two-part agreement, S&L Mortgages will offer would-be home owners end financing to purchase the units while giving NHC an option for construction finance for developing the units if and when required.
The projects of varying sizes include 105 units in Kileleshwa that will be priced between KES8m to KES13m. In Madaraka infill Sector A, NHC will build 110 units with a further 400 units in sector B, C, D and E priced between KES4.5m to KES6.5m. Another 162 units will be developed in Nairobi West and their purchase financed by S&L Mortgages.
“We note that housing demand continues to exceed supply and other macro economic factors make interest rates too high. As such, S&L will offer to all purchasers of these units a special rate of base 1%, allowing many more people the option of a mortgage” said S&L Mortgages Divisional Director Caroline Kariuki.
She disclosed that this is the first agreement entered into by the S&L Mortgages since its merger with the larger KCB Group. According to Kariuki, S&L has since seen an increase in business from areas previously not covered by S&L.
The move executed in early 2010 now gives S&L access to the KCB branch network of over 213 locations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Southern Sudan. The firm, she said, was already developing a regional roll out strategy for KCB subsidiary operations.
“As the EAC integration opens up the free flow of goods, labor and capital, KCB will take advantage of our presence in these countries to finance these projects”, said Kariuki.
S&L she said would benefit from cheaper funding after the recent conclusion of the bank’s rights issue that raised KES12.5bn in shareholder capital injections. In effect, S&L Mortgages can now handle bigger projects from the previous KES250m, up to KES1bn per single project.
In addressing the need for the development of low cost housing, KCB she said would lobby the government to introduce favorable policies in the market segment and which is greatly hindered owing to the high start up costs of owning property.
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