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Kenya's Middle-Class Home-Buying Boom
John Nyaga, with his daughters at their new home in Ngong Town, grew up in a mud-walled house.
(By Stephanie Mccrummen -- Post)
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"I remember you could study at any time there," Nyaga said, explaining that at home he planned his studies around the availability of a lantern. The visits "made me view things differently," he said, "because I could see both sides now and after school, I thought I should live an urban lifestyle."
With his sister's help, Nyaga attended a university, and he eventually got a job that earns him enough to pay the equivalent of a $100-a-month mortgage and still tuck away another $30 or so in savings each month. He recently sold his car to make the down payment on his house and now commutes to Nairobi via matatu, a type of wild minivan taxi that is the city's public transport.
Nyaga can name 10 friends who have also gotten mortgages, he said, including colleagues at work and others with jobs at the power company. "My expectation is that the economy will still rise," Nyaga said.
At the same time, he nonchalantly mentions hard facts of Kenyan life, statistics that inform the bleaker predictions of think tanks but that he simply factors into a life he is determined to make better.
"Now, you have to be very fast in making decisions," he said. "Prices are rising, and the average life span is down. Now it is around 49. So in 10 years' time, I would like to have finished my mortgage and maybe go into my own business after that."
"I don't believe in stopping at one point -- I will move to Lavington," he added, invoking the wealthy Nairobi neighborhood of sprawling lawns and gardens. "I wouldn't mind that."
Researcher Charles Wachira contributed to this report.
