Most people particularly youth and Diaspora prefer buying houses in Kigali to date. In fact recrudescence of Covid-19 has succumbed and driven back housing demand in Kigali but real estate stands itself, according to the study that revealed over 31,000 residential houses are needed every year up to 2022 from 2012.
Urbanization: one of the keys factors influencing the demand for housing us the age tale: rural to urban migration “because people like to live, invest, work and play within their proximity”. According to a census report in 2020, it shows tremendous growth in population in Rwanda, with Kigali city leading with about 2M and estimated to rise up to 3M in 2030.
With such demand for housing, wouldn’t Real Estate in Rwanda be booming? After all, everyone needs a roof over their head.
Also, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has had a parallel influence on the real estate industry attributing its growth ratio of 9.4% in the last two years. The increase of GDP has also been attributed to consumers ‘growth of income allowing them to afford houses and apartments for sale or rent within Kigali City.
Mortgage terms and flexible payment plans in Kigali people; moreover, the bubble would burst if the mortgage lending rate than higher than the repaying rate by consumers. As it stands most people shy away from taking up mortgages because one ends up repaying three times money borrowed.
Real Estate connoisseurs prefer flexible payment plans with cash installments staggered over a period of time as specially offered to them by developers and realtors such as E_Mall Ltd/eMall Property and other local companies. These are favorable to those looking for houses in Kigali.
If realtor like eMall Property helps to get the right property to the client’s budget, high-quality finishing, modern amenities, and a good location, then this would allow them to meet the needs of clients.
In early 2020, IPAR-Rwandawww.ipar-rwanda.org revealed research known as Housing Market Need and Solution in Kigali City. It shows that housing demand in Kigali will be 458, 265 dwelling units to 2022 and 18,000 new households recorded every year since 2017 to our market.
Kigali new housing demand based on income segment or house rental rate form neighborhoods to the neighborhood; Demand for new house concentrated in the lowest income quintile where households earn 300,000Rwf or less that stands with 78% of whole new housing demand.
The demand for new housing fall in the category where households earn between 300,000Rwf and 600,000Rwf that stands for 13%, for households, earn between 600,000Rwf and 900,000Rwf at 5%, households earn between 900,000Rwf and 1500000Rwf for 2% and premier one for households earn above 1,500,000Rwf and represents 1%.
The study also reveals that Kigali housing demand is addressed in a different way, mainly through banking and mortgage finance, increasing rent-to-home own, and government policies for subsidizing affordable housing, especially to real estate developers.
Generally, the study estimates that around 373,000 additional households will need to be accommodated in the least 310,000 houses, in the period from 2017 to 2032; annually this represents 18,000 new households per year in 2017 rising up to 32,000 during 2032, accommodated in at least 15,000 houses rising up to at least 26,000 new houses in 2032.
