State-run Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) has increased the size of mortgage loans to commercial banks and Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (SACCOs) to KSh 8 million in Nairobi and neighbouring counties of Kiambu, Machakos, and Kajiado Counties from the previous KSh 4 million.
KMRC has also doubled the cash it disburses for purchasing homes in the rest of Kenya to KSh6 million from KSh3 million.
“Inflation already increased the cost of inputs and that means you have to also increase available financing for units,” KMRC chief executive Johnson Oltetia told the media recently.
Over the past few months, Kenya’s construction industry has experienced price growth of such materials as steel, paint and cement- a rise blamed partly on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has caused global supply chain disruptions.
Figures indicate that Russia and Ukraine control nearly a fifth of the global steel export trade.
Besides doubling the mortgage size, KMRC has also raised The Kenya Mortgage Refinancing Company (KMRC) also raised the allocation to 105 percent of the value of the purchased home from 90 percent, eliminating the need for buyers to make upfront payments.
In the prior financial arrangement, prospective homebuyers were required to pay a deposit of at least 10 percent of the value of the house before tapping into the state-run mortgage facility.
The list of SACCOs that are classified as primary mortgage lenders of KMRC include Bingwa Sacco, Harambee Sacco, Imarika Sacco, Imarisha Sacco, Kenya Police Sacco, Stima Sacco, Tower Sacco, Safaricom Sacco and Ukulima Sacco.
