A shortage of housing has hit Webuye town as Pan Paper Mill is set to be reopened. The situation has been worsened after Masinde Muliro University opened a branch in the town. A number of departmental heads have been posted to Bungoma East district whose headquarters is in Webuye town aggravating the situation.
The presence of a medical training college without hostels and staff houses for tutors has made the town choke with people also looking for houses to rent. Many residential houses in the town were built for Pan Paper employees only. After the factory recalled its workers to prepare for reopening people who had rented the houses were forced to vacate. Many university students who had taken over the houses do not have a place to stay. Students and lecturers are now forced to commute from as far as Kakamega and Bungoma towns.
Rents for houses in the town have considerably risen over the past few months due to high demand. Rent for a self contained room with electricity is going for between Sh2,500 to Sh3,000 while a similar house without electricity goes for Sh2,000. The same property was earlier going for Sh1,500 to Sh2,000 and Sh1,000 to Sh2,000.
Source: Daily Nation
The Housing crisis in Webuye is not strange.This a town whose Economy is wholly dependant on the Pan paper Mills and thats why most investors have always kept off.the opening of a constituent campus in such a town is both wrong and right depending on which side of the Economic logic you subscribe to.
This is an irony. I know of guys who have invested in good houses but no tenant is willing to pay even Ksh. 3,000.00 for a two bedroom house.
Thank architecture Kenya
From an investment point of view,these can only be good news.There has been an instant house boom in Thika town after the inauguration of Mt Kenya University.
Many developers have relocated to Meru after seeing the opportunities created by Methodist,Chuka and Meru University colleges in creating accomodation for these institutions.
Kenyan young people should utilise these opportuinities rather than just wallow at how amazing and amusing they are.Many young people have come together as groups or CBO’s to create real estates companies.
Thika Green is a product of young visionary Kenyans who merged their individual energies to create a multi million real estate empire.
Webuye growth and lack of sufficient housing is a blessing in disguise,lets see who will be the first to dip his hook.
Regards
King’aru
This is not unique to Webuye alone. Even in my rural home, people book houses immediately the foundation has been dug. The returns are quite low as compared to the investment. Thats why there seems to be a reluctance. I will try it though in my home area.
@ Tairo
Ts great to hear you want to try it in your home area,but I think the key here is the target market and demand.
In meru for example,strategic developers are developing hostels at the precints of Chuka,Methodist and meru Universities clearly targetting surplus students and members of staff who cannot be accomodated within the institutions.
Other cases like Daystar university in Athi river,private developers are liasing with the universtiy to develop hostels and other appropriate accomodation facilities.
Development of institutions be either educational,industrial or otherwise be either in upcountry or in urban areas is always a delicious bait for strategic developers and in many cases they target foreigners to that context. wenyeji watakulipa peni mbili if thats is your target.
True, the idea is always to know who you are targeting. For instance, i would only target tenants who have stable jobs in government and government agencies, teachers, NGO workers and so on…….. Targeting locals would always create a conflict, especially if they are in those rural businesses which don’t pay. However, for locals who are in stable jobs, and can afford, let them rent.
In my home, an averagely finished two bedroomed house with electricity would fetch about shs 6,000 or more. There is little room to do high class houses as no one would stay in them. You only do such for yourself.