Heri Homes, financial partner unveil Sh20 billion project in Kiambu County

By James Wakahiu

• Dubbed Legacy Ridges, the project is expected to put up 4,000 homes, 2,800 of which are two and three-bedroom apartments.
• The dual say the phase one of the project has already sold out on high demand for housing with plans for new units set every six months.

Real estate developer Heri Homes has partnered with peer Finsco Africa to break ground on a Sh20 billion housing project in Kiambu county.

The project dubbed Legacy Ridges is expected to put up 4,000 homes, 2,800 of which are two and three-bedroom apartments.

The developer says the first phase of the project has already sold out on high demand for housing with plans for new units set every six months. “We are already sold out, a sign that there is high demand for quality housing that is also affordable,” said Heri Homes Marketing Director, Paul Mugo.

The project is targeting low-income earners and the developers are seeking partnerships with Saccos and banks to anchor the financing of home ownership to clients. The units will retail at Ksh.3.5 million for two-bedroom apartments and at Ksh.9.7 million for four-bedroom maisonettes. The project, which sits on 200 acres, is expected to house an estimated 20,000 people upon completion.

Heri Homes was initially established as a land, real estate, and property merchant company. Its business model however evolved with time to include developing apartments, bungalows, and townhouses in areas where there is high rental yield, through the use of a low-risk finance strategy, whereby part of the capital is raised through Social Capital as opposed to debt.

“This strategy reduces the cumulative cost of a specific housing unit; this is mostly because it eliminates the hefty interest cost that ordinarily would be transferred to the end buyer by the developer where a debt model is employed. Heri Homes has experienced phenomenal success mostly attributable to this unique housing model,” says Mugo.

In addition to real estate investments, the company has also invested portions of its assets in the purchase of land in strategic areas for resale. It is currently developing housing units along Kikuyu road (3 Projects), Kitisuru (2 projects) and Athi River (Daystar) (1 project) using the equity model as described above. The rest of the capital is raised through presales of housing units.