Nairobi, Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT – Pan-African housing development financier Shelter Afrique has fully paid commercial debts owed to eight lenders, giving the company the leverage to underwrite new debt. In 2018, Shelter Afrique signed a Debt Restructuring Agreement with the eight lenders – six DFIs and two commercial banks – to …
Read More »Why Biden’s tenants eviction ban faces legal challenges
Washington, USA | Xinhua | U.S. President Joe Biden has partially extended a ban on evicting tenants who have been economically impacted by COVID-19. But it remains unknown whether the moratorium will survive mounting legal challenges. Last year, after the pandemic hit, capacity restrictions on businesses such as restaurants and …
Read More »Ministry of Land innovates measures to protect land rights
NRM MANIFESTO WEEK | Land is a crucial factor in Uganda’s development agenda. This calls for stability and security of land tenure system. And, the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development is live to this fact since it has been working hard to create an enabling environment to enable …
Read More »Cuba boosts housing program despite COVID-19 pandemic
Havana, Cuba | XINHUA | Dianelis Chavero, a 43-year-old public transport employee living in Havana’s 10 de Octubre district, is eager to move into a brand-new apartment the government has allocated to her family. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening U.S. economic sanctions against the Caribbean nation, thousands of …
Read More »Harnessing Middle East labor export for real estate explosion
COMMENT | Martin Sabiiti | According to the Uganda Association (UAERA) for External Recruitment Agencies there are over 140,000 Ugandans working in the Middle East. The number could even be higher when you factor in those who are trafficked and can’t be properly accounted for. The story of labour export has …
Read More »East African real estate investors discover the working class
COMMENT | SAMUEL KARIUKI | The last 20 years of real estate boom in East Africa has changed our building landscape and inventory, as it quite rightly should have done. Our starting point was a region that was short of every kind of building, from housing, to shops, through …
Read More »Hima Cement looks to housing sector for growth
Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Over the last few years, Uganda’s cement industry has drastically changed. Hima and Tororo Cement factories have undergone major upgrades while at the same time; there has been entry of new players – Simba and Kampala Cement. The Independent’s Ronald Musoke spoke to Hima Cement’s …
Read More »Mitrelle to construct 10,000 units in Kigali
Sector players call for more incentives for low cost houses Kampala, Uganda | STEPHEN NUWAGIRA | The recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Mitrelle Group, to construct 10,000 housing units in Rwanda has led major players to demand reassessment of priorities. The Israel-based global …
Read More »COMMENT: Yes to affordable housing
The two key challenges that must be tackled to enable easy home building in urban areas COMMENT | JAN MISCHKE | From London to Lagos, “affordable housing” has become an oxymoron. In most cities, rents and home prices have increased faster than incomes, and in urban areas with robust job markets, housing …
Read More »London house prices in first annual fall since 2009
London, United Kingdom | AFP | The average price of a home in London dropped in 2017 for the first time in eight years on fallout from Brexit, data showed on Thursday. While prices were up nationwide, they were down in London for the first time since 2009, mortgage lender …
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