Centum's real estate subsidiary collected Sh300million more in pre-sale collections between April 2020 and February 2021, collecting Sh1.6 billion and booked house pre-sales worth Sh3.5 billion
Between April 2019 and February 2020 they collected Sh1.3 billion.
The higher house pre-sales indicate strong appetite for the houses, despite the subdued economic environment caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.
“Our teams continued to deliver on our projects even during the worst months of the pandemic, and this built a lot of confidence in our existing and potential customers hence the increased sales,” said the Centum Real Estate Managing Director, Samuel Kariuki.
Centum Real Estate’s properties currently under construction within the Two Rivers Residential District are Loft Residences, Riverbank Apartments and Cascadia Apartments, in addition, to its mixed use developments in Vipingo, Kilifi and Entebbe in Uganda.
Other developments in Nairobi include the 365 Pavilion Place Apartments in Ruaraka and the 265 Elmer One in Kasarani, both falling under affordable node program.
The cumulative pre-sales represent 1,322 units out of a total 3,093 houses either under construction or market-validation.
The cash collections represent an average inflow of Sh230 million per month since Centum issued a project bond late last year to finance its real estate projects, up from an average of Sh166 million per month prior to the bond issue.
Centum RE has also collected Sh2 billion from land sales in Vipingo, out of a deal pipeline of Sh8 billion.
The real estate sector was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, with buyers and developers struggling to raise funds amid tighter credit conditions imposed by banks, which are wary of the risk exposure.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data covering the second quarter of 2020 shows the sector growth slowed to 3.9 per cent compared to a 7.2 per cent expansion in a similar period of 2019.
