Sunday, October 6

Real Estate

Kenya's Wealthy
  • Developers targeting Kenya’s wealthy are now pricing the units in foreign currencies such as the US dollar.
  • The continued upward trend in prime residential rents can be partly attributed to the appreciation of the dollar against the Kenyan shilling.
  • Real estate investors are mitigating the emerging risks by deploying their capital in projects that have dollar-denominated returns where possible and in green-rated building.

High-end real estate developers targeting Kenya’s wealthy are now pricing the units in foreign currencies such as the US dollar to cushion them from losses that the devaluation of the Kenyan shilling may occasion.

New revelations contained in a report by property tracker and real estate management firm Knight Frank show that the trend gained traction in the second half of 2023 as foreigners residing and working in Kenya continued playing a pivotal role in driving the country’s upscale real estate market.

Despite economic headwinds, the prime …

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Real Estate in Nigeria - Proptech in Africa
  • Housing demand in Kenya is estimated at 250,000 units annually.
  • With a supply of only 50,000 new houses annually, there is an 80 per cent annual housing deficit.
  • President William Ruto has detailed his plan to deliver 200,000 housing units annually.

Kenya has had an ambitious plan to address the housing shortage in the country, with the two past regimes placing affordable housing as one of the key priorities.

Housing demand in Kenya is estimated at 250,000 units annually. With a supply of only 50,000 new houses annually, there is an 80 per cent annual housing deficit.

The previous government led by former President Uhuru Kenyatta had an Affordable Housing Programme that had targeted to deliver at least 500,000 units by last year, but failed way below with less than 10 percent  of intended units being delivered by 2022.

President William Ruto has detailed his plan to deliver 200,000 housing …

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Jenga Leo is a coworking space based in Nairobi and offers workers several benefits, including high-speed Wi-Fi and air condition. The company offers several facilities, including a Skype and podcasting room and a childcare centre. Others are a yoga studio and gym room.

The administrator said the company’s innovative concept capitalises on that trend by bringing health and work together in one accessible place.

“The name itself plays by creating ‘building blocks’ as part of an organisation’s desire, with Jenga meaning ‘build’, ‘leo’ meaning today.

Hence, the concept takes building today to create the foundation of a workplace dynamic that allows for one’s mind, body, and soul to flourish.…

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Goh Betoch Bank a new financial institution that aims to introduce mortgage banking offers its shares to the public in Ethiopia.

Getahun Nana, the former VP of the central bank of Ethiopia, who is now one of the founding members of Goh Betoch Bank said: “Currently there are 1.2 million housing shortages in Ethiopia.” He added that Ethiopia needs to provide additional houses every year in order to meet the growing demand for housing that is why they have introduced the bank to provide loans for housing construction.

Getahum said that only less than 4% of the loans in Ethiopia goes to housing construction for both real estate developers and individuals as he briefed potential investors to the new bank.

Eng. Aisha Mohammed, Minister of Ministry of Construction and Urban Development of Ethiopia, expressed her hope that the new bank will benefit individuals who are engaged in real estate …

Ugandan Asians fear expulsion as MPs dig into properties - The Exchange

Ugandan Asians fear expulsion as MPs dig into properties that were left behind in 1972 after the first expulsion.

A section of Ugandans of Asian origin says that with the parliamentary looking into the management and status of properties left in 1972, they fear it is likely to result in a second expulsion.

They believe that it is “targeting individuals” instead of dealing with the real problem of the properties.

A selected task force of the parliamentary on Commission Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (Cosase) committee is investigating members of the Association of Expropriated Properties Owners’ Limited on the matter.

The members say that it is only President Yoweri Museveni who can save the image of the country by stopping what they are calling “rewriting Amin’s history”

Mr Mohammad Allibhai, the association’s chair said, “The way the Cosase is handling this matter based on a whistleblower shows that we the …

Tanzania’s government via the President’s Office Ministry of Regional Administration and Local Government (PO-RALG) with support from World Bank and UK aid as financier, has funded the Tanzania Urban Resilience Program that brought, Msimbazi Opportunity Plan.

This is the comprehensive blueprint, turning the commercial city hazardous basin into a valuable real estate asset for urban resilience.

The entire process was rooted by Tanzania’s Vice President Hon. Samia Suluhu’s quest for eliminating flooding in Dar es Salaam, resulting into a coherent participatory process to beget the Msimbazi Plan, known as “Charrette”, which began from January 2018 to August 2018. Over 200 people were involved from 59 institutions and communities.

Dar es Salaam, the commercial city with approximately 6 million people, has suffered enormously under floods over time and space, and Msimbazi Valley being the epicenter of vulnerability and stress to thousands of victims.

Msimbazi river and its tributaries flow through the …

Pan African real estate company Broll reaches for global partners

Broll Property Group, the largest independently owned Pan-African commercial property services company, has entered into an exclusive affiliate arrangement with Cushman & Wakefield, a leading global real estate services company.

The new venture represents a partnership with Broll’s Occupier Services business and will be branded Cushman & Wakefield Broll, providing clients with an integrated platform covering the entire sub-Saharan Africa region.

The partnership combines Broll’s well-established operations and market-leading track record of Occupier Services across Africa with Cushman & Wakefield’s global reach. This will allow for the optimization of Broll’s expansive knowledge of the African markets with the weight and expertise of a global player. “This partnership provides an important distinction for users of space, who will benefit from the Cushman & Wakefield Broll dedicated focus on occupier clients,” says Ken Gerber, Managing Director of Broll Occupier Services.

The service offering covers end-to-end corporate real estate solutions for businesses across …

Office yields remained largely stable in most African markets over the past two years, anchored by patient domestic capital as local investors assume a longer-term perspective, a new analysis by Knight Frank shows. The analysis, published in a new Knight Frank report dubbed Africa Horizons, shows that of the 35 office markets covered, yield remained stable in 16 locations in the two years to 2018 and rose in six, while 13 markets recorded declines.

Private capital remains an important driver of investment activity in much of Africa

Office yields remained largely stable in most African markets over the past two years, anchored by patient domestic capital as local investors assume a longer-term perspective, a new analysis by Knight Frank shows.

The analysis, published in a new Knight Frank report dubbed Africa Horizons, shows that of the 35 office markets covered, yield remained stable in 16 locations in the two years to 2018 and rose in six, while 13 markets recorded declines.

Africa Horizons provides a unique guide to real estate investment opportunities on the continent, examining developments in agriculture, hospitality, healthcare, occupier services (office), capital markets, residential and logistics property sectors.

“By taking a longer-term perspective, and in some cases a lower return profile, local investors have remained more active than headline figures suggest. This explains how yields in most major markets have remained …

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