HF Delivers First 80 Units of Its Sh5bn Clay City in Nairobi

Mortgage financier HF Group has unveiled the first 80 apartments of its Sh5 billion development at the former Clay Works off Thika Road, pushing forward its plan to build a 1,520-unit estate in Nairobi.

The 110 sqm 3-bedroom units that were previously sold for Sh9 million are now going for Sh8.65 million, with each unit coming with a 43-inch TV, 4 burner cooker, toaster, fridge, water kettle, and washing machine.

HF had earlier indicated that the project which sits on 24.5 acres will be built in three phases – with phase one set on 8.6 acres, phase two on 10.5 acres and phase three on 5.4 acres.

“The first phase will see the construction of 560 units; the second phase will be of 480 units and the third phase will also see the development of 480 units,” the company said in a past press briefing.

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While unveiling the 80 units on Friday, HF Group managing director Robert Kibaara said the company had signed a strategic partnership agreement with the government under which their projects will receive subsidies leading to lower property prices.

Among the incentives available to developers of mass housing projects include tax exemption on all building materials as well as exclusion from charging sales tax duty.

“These benefits must be passed on to first-time homebuyers while a 4 per cent stamp duty is also excluded for every house bought by a first-time buyer,” he said.

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Mr Kibaara said all individuals who have bought off-plan homes with HF Group will receive their ready houses as per the agreement, assuaging fears among homebuyers who feared that the company’s decision to exit the home construction business would frustrate their homeownership dreams.

“We guarantee that money deposited with us for house-buying purposes is safe and will be used for that purpose,” he said adding that the company has a history of delivering homes to buyers countrywide. 

Earlier this year, HF said it would exit the business of building homes by the end of the year. The move is aimed at cutting exposure to the real estate market which has slowed down considerably in recent years.

“We will complete the houses we are building this year and we will not start any new construction,” Mr Kibaara said in January.

The NSE-listed firm is seeking to free up resources currently tied up in its property development subsidiary HFDI, which has some Sh1.2 billion worth of capital.

HFDI, which was previously known as the Kenya Building Society, has developed tens of projects among them Buru Buru, Komarock Phases 1 to 4, Ngei and Woodley estates in the past, and more recently Kahawa Downs, Precious Gardens, Richland Pointe, Komarock Phases 5A and B and Komarock Heights.

The company has been operating a joint venture model where it partners with landowners and provides cash to develop residential and commercial units in a bid to circumvent the high cost of land in Nairobi.

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