by admin 
The population of Kenya is mostly composed of young people according to research. Almost 70% of the population is composed of youths aged between 18-35. This by default means that most of them are in school or joining one. If you ever went through tertiary education in Kenya, you must have faced a common issue every campus or college-going student has met, accommodation.
I remember studying at Kenyatta University a while back and struggling to find an affordable house for myself that the little HELB money could facilitate. I believe many readers of this blog have gone through the same predicament while trying to survive as campus students.
I remember how a friend of mine named Mwasia used to tell me how ‘pirating’ in their campus hostels was becoming rife. Students used to even share beds with two other people per night just to get by. “Of importance is life,” he used to say to me after a long funny but concerning story of how his previous night was.
Because of the significant numbers, many, if not all Kenyan campuses cannot accommodate the vast majority of students studying there. This disparity creates a massive deficit in the property market for this specific need to be met. I remember my younger self dreaming of tapping into that market, “nikiomoka” one day. I had seen a gap and hoped to one day look to address it as a business person.
Last month I came across a similar observation made by Naivera Holdings Limited that sparked me to pitch into the discussion. The rising demand for student accommodation and growth in retail activities dictate Kenya’s real estate performance in the coming years, citing a booming young population.
The article said the development of dedicated student residences and co-living programs is on the rise due to a growing number of students, a young population, and a shortage of supply of formal student residences.
According to the report, this is an asset class to watch out for. Kenya is seeing an increase in dedicated student accommodation due to its young population and the need for quality student accommodation near educational institutions. The Kenyan government also pledged that it will hand over half a million homes to cover the publicized shortfall of two million homes. This however is taking longer more so because the economy has not fully recovered from the pandemic effects.
So what does the above information mean to you my reader today? I think the writing is all over the wall. Invest in affordable housing or apartments. Simply put, there’s no other way to go about this. Studio apartments/ bedsitters and one-bedroom apartments would serve perfectly considering the affordability and the demand for the same. Affordable housing is also an excellent way of earning a stable passive income for an extended period with low maintenance costs incurred. Even better, this is something you can even pass down to your kids, and their kids since property appreciates with time.
