Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has explained the prices of the affordable houses in Bondeni, Nakuru County after Kenyans expressed that the Ksh4.5 million price tag was expensive.
In a statement, the PS noted that the Bondeni houses were constructed by the previous regime which used a different model for the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP).
According to Hinga, the houses were constructed using investors' money. The houses are also much bigger than the ones being constructed by President William Ruto's administration, hence they are more costly.
The government on Tuesday announced that two-bedroom houses would be sold at Ksh3.1 million while three-bedroom units would go for Ksh4.5 million.
"The Nakuru Bondeni project started in 2021, the units are much bigger & thus costlier. For example, a two-bedroom unit of 64 sqm is bigger than our Affordable Housing Program three-bedroom unit of 60 sqm.
"Also, note it was built 100 per cent with investor funds and zero offtake," he stated.
Hinga was responding to Kenyans who questioned why the houses were more expensive than those undertaken by other private developers across the country.
A section of Kenyans had also questioned the mortgage model noting that it would be expensive in the long run owing to the current interest rates.
"I thought the Ksh4.25M affordable housing is the total cost paid over 20 years. The Ksh3.5 million is the cash price. If you borrowed Ksh3.5 million for 20 years at the current rate, you definitely will pay a lot more," economist Mohamed Wehliye commented.
"The term is up to 30 years but there is no penalty for early settlement," the PS responded.
Meanwhile, Hinga also shared the pricing of the new model being used for Ruto's houses.
In the new model, the houses will be divided into; social housing, affordable housing, and market housing. The social housing will mostly cater to Kenyans in the informal sector such as mama mbogas and bodaboda operators.
On the other hand, the affordable houses will target employed Kenyans with the market houses, which are the most expensive, targeting Kenyans who are in the upper cadre.
