Real estate company promises low-cost housing units for Sh1m

Real estate firm Home Afrika is promising Kenyans a New Year present in the form of affordable homes costing Sh1 million for a two-bedroom unit.

The low-cost housing units are the result of a design competition run by the company in July this year that saw a prototype by University of Nairobi’s architecture students win the Sh1 million prize.

Home Afrika said 5,000 units will be built on a piece of land in Athi River with 200 houses earmarked in the first phase. “For a long time, the lower end of the market who cannot afford to buy land for construction or spend millions to purchase homes have not been viewed as profitable,” said Dr Mbira Gikonyo, the director of the Home Afrika.

The winning project has proposed to use of bricks, compacted earth and sand as part of the building material to keep the cost of each unit as low as possible.
Read on at source: Business Daily


Creative? Win prize with Sh1m house plan
A Kenyan real estate developer has launched a competition for architectural students in East African universities to design a model family home for Sh1 million, which the company proposes to build for middle- and lower-income groups.

The ‘One Million’ house research project launched by Home Afrika Ltd will be the first of its kind in Kenya.

Dr Mbira Gikonyo, the director Home Afrika Ltd, says producing low-cost housing in Kenya depends on finding the most cost effective and efficient building methods without necessarily compromising standards.

However, housing technology has taken rapid strides internationally, with the low-cost house model now being tried widely elsewhere.
Read on at source: Business Daily