Kenya’s leading mortgage financier Housing Finance has (finally) returned to the lucrative business of property supply. The firm has not been involved in the supply side of the property business in 13 years and their return to the business is definitely going to turn a few heads. The "supply side" of the market involves the actual construction of residential and commercial properties.

Back with a bang!

To start with, the folks at Housing Finance, through its subsidiary company Kenya Building Society (KBS,) are set to construct 162 maisonettes and “an elaborate commercial centre” on a 13 acre plot in Komarock. Details have been on the low concerning what "an elaborate commercial centre" is. A commercial centre full of offices? A mall maybe?  Kenya Building Society was synonymous with the advancement of products in the property industry in the past, particularly housing estates like the Buru Buru and Komarock in Nairobi and Fahari in Mombasa.

In a comment in the press release, the company's Managing Director Mr. Frank Ireri said: “Housing Finance intends to raise its involvement on the supply side of residential middle and lower income housing, which will in turn create significant mortgage lending opportunities for the company.”

Housing Finance is back in the building business. And with the returns on real estate as high as they are, it seems Housing Finance was spot-on with their timing.