The rush to cash in on the housing industry could still be on after all. Despite the numerous developments coming up in upmarket and low end places, the demand for housing still remains high.

Statistics show that Kenya has an annual housing demand of about 210,000 units against an average supply of about 50,000 units a year. Urbanization levels are expected to reach 50% in 2030 up from 39.7% in 2009.

The development of major infrastructural projects like the Thika Superhighway and the construction of the northern and eastern bypasses have opened up development spaces for housing along those routes. The projected expansion of Langata road, and Ngong road into a dual carriage way could see the same effect of development in the linked metropolis towns.

According to Housing Minister Soita Shitanda, cabinet has approved new regulations on public-private partnerships. The proposed laws on private-public-partnerships(PPPs) are awaiting approval by Parliament. Mr. Shitanda says the private sector holds a huge potential in addressing the hosing problems and investors could cash in on this should parliament approve the laws.

The fortune turner that real estate has been is not going change in a long while. The myth that supply of housing units is going to surpass demand by 2015 by some speculators is going to remain that for a while. Just a myth.

Lack of access to mortgages by majority of the population has been partly blamed for the housing crisis with large numbers of urban families being forced to reside in informal settlements. The poor performance of the mortgage sector in Kenya has been blamed on lack of access to long-term funds, low incomes, credit risk and high interest rates as well as a large informal employment sector such as small-scale farmers and traders.

However, if you can beat all these odds, the future is still bright as the demand is still there.