A block of apartments.[Photo/protct.co.ke]
The real estate sector grew at the slowest pace in six years in the three months to September last year, hurt by jitters over the prolonged electioneering period and a credit crunch.
Fresh data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicate that the construction sector, a major driver of economic growth in recent years, expanded by 4.9 per cent in July-September compared with 7.8 per cent a year earlier.
That was the slowest growth in the sector since 2011. The slowdown in the property sector is mirrored in other related industries like the cement, timber and metal markets.
Housing has been one of Kenya’s fastest growing sectors over the last decade, with returns from real estate outpacing equities and government securities.
“The slowed growth in the sector was partly attributed to the extended electioneering period that prompted investors to scale down construction activities,” KNBS said in the third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report last Friday.