Annual expo set to spur county living and investment

Major property developers are lining up for housing and investment opportunities in the wake of the new county dispensation to help aid the national housing deficit.

In a property stakeholder briefing bringing together real estate stakeholders ahead of The 11^th edition of the Property and Home Living Expo (P&HLE), the developers are eyeing on aiding investment to new and affordable peri-urban areas.

The free to attend exhibition will be held on the June 20^th -23^rd  at the Sarit Centre in a timely move showcasing the vibrant real estate opportunities in the 47 counties by leading developers and  aims to tap into the emergent spending power of the middle economic class keen on avoiding steep prices of similar property in the capital.

Reginald Okumu, CEO of Ark Consultants, a property consulting company said  the property market is banking on the expected diversification of county housing development and the focus shift of the middle class from the Nairobi property investment.

“The property market is aware the most significant opportunity is in provision of decent and affordable housing at county level.  However, the glaring opportunity is that almost all county governments will need to operate with some aspect of county housing infrastructure in place,” said Okumu.

Jawad Jaffer, P&HLE Organizing Director, said while helping actualize the national Vision 2030’s social pillar to develop satellite towns while decongesting the cities, the property exhibition aims to give a rare preview of all desirable property investment opportunities at the county level.

“While it is in government’s plans to decongest our major urban centres as part of the answer to the prosperity Kenya seeks in Vision 2030, both property developers and potential homebuyers least prefer urban investments due to their high costs and other factors”, said Jaffer.

The exhibition comes at a time when the Ministry of Planning and Devolution reported a 4.8 percent increase in 2012 up from 4.3 percent in 2011 with total value of new private and public buildings completed going up by 9.6 per cent from KSh 46.4 billion in 2011 to KSh 50.8 billion in 2012.

Opening up of the peri-urban investments has seen both holiday and residential multibillion investments in Kisumu, Eldoret, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kajiado, Kiambu and P&HLE organisers say they will seek  to educate property investors and homebuyers on the counties most desirable investment opportunities, with the counties now expected to be on the forefront of the country’s economic growth.

The 11^th P&HLE has already signed the most sought after properties in the country including English Point Marina at Fort Jesus, Acacia Holiday Homes in Voi, Migaa in Kiambu and Longonot City in Naivasha.

Knight Frank Kenya Managing Director, Ben Woodhams, agents of English Point Marina and Acacia Holiday Apartments said the 11^th Property & Homes Expo is a perfect platform for its niche market considering its location.

The free-to-attend exhibition Expo will also feature industry experts that will hold key talks on both Residential and Commercial property investments trends in the country.

The real estate industry is now at per with other sectors like the capital markets, tourism and even agriculture with economic growth, rapid urbanization, population growth, expansion of the middle class and a well-developed financial industry touted as the main drivers of Kenya’s property market.