For his second term, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that he would focus on achieving food security, affordable housing, affordable healthcare and the manufacturing sector - a project he refers to as the Big 4.
In line with the development-oriented programme, the president explained that low-cost housing would be introduced in four Nairobi estates.
According to realtors, the president's planned construction of 30,000 housing units will greatly reduce rent prices in Shauri Moyo, Makongeni, Starehe and Park Road estates.
To make houses more affordable, the government is planning to exempt stamp duty charges for first time home buyers via the Tax Laws amendment bill.
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A realtor who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke noted the removal of the stamp duty which stands between two and four percent will ease the process of home ownership in the country.
"The current stamp duty rates are 4 percent of the valuation amount for lands within municipalities (leaseholds) and 2 percent for land outside municipalities (freeholds).
"Removing the charges is a good move that will reduce house prices," he conveyed.
According to the project launched by the national government, Shauri Moyo is earmarked to receive 5,000 new homes, Makongeni will have 20,000 units and Starehe will receive 3,000 before October 2018.
State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu conveyed that the groundbreaking for the scheduled 2,000 units at Park Road estate will take place within the next three months.
The houses will go on the market at between Ksh750,000 and Ksh1.5 Million.
The fees incurred when buying contribute to the final price of the house: "Apart from lawyer fees, we have valuers fee, a brokerage fee if using an agent which is mostly 3 percent and legal fees for agreements," a realtor told Kenyans.co.ke.
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