The Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) has supported the issuance of 4,500 affordable home loans, helping to lift the total mortgages volume to 30,000 last year.

The National Treasury has made the disclosure, which also puts cumulative lending by the mortgage refinancing company at Sh21.4 billion as at the end of August 2025.

KMRC enables banks and other financial institutions to issue home loans at an average rate of 10 percent by providing them with cheap, long-term funds at five percent interest.

The 10 percent rate charged on KMRC-backed loans in 2024 is substantially cheaper than the 16.2 percent market average recorded in the same period.

“The Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC) has been pivotal in this process, disbursing Sh21.4 billion by August 2025 and disbursing over 4,500 affordable home loans across 39 counties,” the National Treasury said last week.

“Reduced interest rates for refinanced mortgages have made home ownership more affordable for low- and middle-income households.”

KMRC, in which the Treasury is the top shareholder, was set up in 2018 for the purposes of increasing the availability of affordable home loans for Kenyans.

The number of mortgage loans on the market has increased since the firm’s establishment, albeit slowly, crossing the 30,000 mark for the first time in 2024.

Read: Paltry 4pc of Kenyans can afford Sh10m mortgage

There were 30,016 mortgage loans in the market in December 2024, up from 29,260 in December 2023, as per data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

The value of outstanding mortgage loans was Sh279.3 billion in December 2024, compared to Sh270.4 billion in December 2023.

KMRC noted that, in the financial year ending December 2024, a cumulative total of Sh13.9 billion was disbursed to primary mortgage lenders, helping to refinance 3,855 mortgages across 36 counties by the end of the period.

Nearly eight in every 10 or 77 percent of total loans were disbursed in the counties of Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado and Kiambu.

The government is betting on the KMRC to stimulate demand for homes developed under its affordable housing programme (AHP).

According to the National Treasury, 214,057 housing units are under construction across all 47 counties.

“Completed units include: 605 units in Bondeni, 1,080 units in Mukuru, 110 units in Homa Bay and 390 institutional units across various counties. Ongoing projects include 83,044 affordable units, 44,803 social housing units and 11,527 institutional units,” the National Treasury added.

“To date, 1,189 units have been handed over to beneficiaries.”

The government claims that the affordable housing programme has generated over 428,000 jobs and projects employment could reach one million by 2026.

The government holds a 25.3 percent stake in KMRC, while commercial banks hold a significant 43.7 percent stake, including KCB, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, DTB, HF Group, NCBA, Absa Bank Kenya, Stanbic Kenya and Credit Bank.

The remaining KMRC stakes are held by saccos (7.47 percent), microfinance banks (0.6 percent), the International Finance Corporation (11.82 percent) and Shelter Afrique Development Bank (11.06 percent).

CBK has tipped the availability of discounted long-term financing from institutions like KMRC to keep the mortgage market stable and increase the demand for home loans.

→ kmuiruri@ke.nationmedia.com

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