East and Central Africa biggest homes show, Kenya Homes Expo will unveil progress made in the real estate sector in a four-day event to be held at the KICC from April 21st-24th at the KICC. The event brings together key stakeholders in the industry to mark developments made since the Covid Pandemic in 2020. The global pandemic has shifted preferences within the sector making developers, agents and other industry players to adjust to homebuyer’s preferences. “The uncertainty about the Kenya real estate landscape in a pandemic is a collective responsibility we have solved through innovative approaches that we certainly share at the Expo and more importantly, how consumers have prioritize how they embrace physical spaces,’’ says Daniel Ojijo, founder and organising chair of Kenya Homes Expo. The government roll out on mass vaccination has retaliated confidence in investments for the industry. Kenya commenced its COVID-19 vaccination program on 5th March 2021 with the first phase focused on vaccinating front line workers who include health staff, teachers and since then rolled it to the public. Real estate added 525.7 billion Kenyan shillings (KSh), approximately 4.7 billion U.S. dollars, to Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product in the first half of 2021 The founder is optimistic on the sector, with the theme being ‘Scaling Higher’ for the upcoming expo. “The real estate market is on an upward cycle which promises great opportunities for all of us. I hardly need to echo that demand for housing in Kenya continues to remain robust within residential and commercial sectors, says Mr Ojijo. The April 2022 edition of the expo focuses on generating higher sales leads and attracting a larger prospective customer pool as more exhibitors express interest in the expo according to the organizers. This as studies show information gap is the biggest hold back for would be investors and customers who treat home ownership and construction as long term projects requiring extensive research. Kenya Homes Expo intend to bridge the knowledge gap and deliberate on challenges that the local housing market face in a bid to close the yawning deficit which currently stands at an annual demand of 250,000 housing units against supply of a paltry 60,000. The expo expects more than 40,000 visitors, both locals and internationals. The biannual four days event has come of age since its maiden exhibition in 2005 when about 40 exhibitors took part compared to over 200 exhibitors over the past years. The exhibitors include a pool of service providers and sellers drawn from the financial sector, insurers, energy suppliers, residential and commercial property developers, industry associations and government bodies, property valuers, constructors, development consultants, entertainment, interior decorators, travel, leisure and more. Since its launch in 2005, Kenya Homes Expo has generated thousands of sales leads for selling participants and assisted hundreds of investors who after acquiring necessary market information have come up with multimillion projects. Forums like homes expos spearhead increased investor participation. The existing developers mainly target the top end market neglecting low-income earners who are unable to take up mortgage due to the exorbitant interest rates or low wages. Slightly over 20 percent of the annual housing demand in Kenya is currently on supply with the intensified government and private sector operators efforts now aimed at improving on the national housing deficit. Equally, mortgage financiers have also increased their marketing of funding schemes, resulting into an increased uptake of mortgage services.
