Kenyans Buying Centum Apartments to Get Cheap Loans from Barclays Bank

Kenyans seeking to buy apartments from Centum Investment are set to get affordable loans from Barclays Bank of Kenya.

This comes after Barclays Bank signed an agreement with the real estate arm of Centum Investment to finance buyers of homes that being developed in Nairobi and Kilifi at discount interest rates, according to Business Daily.

Centum Real Estate managing director Samuel Kariuki said the loans will be priced at a range of 11.5 percent to 11.9 percent, a discount of up to 1.5 percentage points compared to the current maximum lending rate of 13 percent by commercial banks.

The lender will fully fund homes whose value is below Sh10 million and provide 90 percent financing for units priced above Sh10 million.

“The signing of this (agreement) with Barclays signals our commitment to ensuring that Kenyans have an opportunity to own a home in a master-planned city that integrates world-class infrastructure and recreational amenities which seamlessly blend a live, work and play lifestyle,” Kariuki told Business Daily.

David Hardisty, the director of retail and business banking at Barclays said the agreement is part of the bank’s plan to expand its housing loans portfolio.

“Barclays has been playing in the mortgage space for many years offering some of the longest-tenured mortgages on the market of up to 25 years and will continue expanding its products and services in this area,” Hardisty said.

The funding agreement covers housing units in Centum’s Palm Ridge Estate and Awali Estate in Kilifi County, as well as The Riverbank Apartments and Cascadia Apartments in Nairobi.

Centum is constructing 1,255 one, two and three-bedroomed houses at Palm Ridge retailing at between Sh2.5 million and Sh4.6 million.

The Riverbank project consists of 168 one, two and three-bedroomed units whose prices range from Sh16 million to Sh30 million. 

On the other hand, Cascadia Apartments feature 400 one, two and three-bedroomed houses retailing at between Sh8.5 million and Sh23 million.