Effects of Mortgage Interest Rate on Real Estate Investment in Kenya

Abstract

As an investment and consumer good, real estate is significant. Like many developing countries, Kenya has struggled to give its citizens access to decent housing that is also affordable. More people are in need of housing due to urbanization, fast population growth, and rural-to-urban migration. Housing supply is less than demand as a result of several of macroeconomic and financial issues that affect real estate investment and, consequently, housing. This study looked into the impact of mortgage interest rates on real estate investment. The study, which covered the 11-year period from 2010 to 2020, used a causal research design and regression analytic research methods based on the Vector Error Correction Model. Data on real estate investments in Kenya The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) and Cytonn quarterly investments reports were obtained from the Central Bank of Kenya. The Ministry of Finance's database on national budgets (KNBS) provided information on mortgage interest rates, A pre-estimation test was run to verify the outcomes. The variables were stationary on the first difference. The VIF test result of 1.62 indicated that there was no multi-collinearity. The 1.9122 Durbin test value suggested that there was no serial correlation. Pairwise Correlation analysis showed a moderate correlation between mortgage interest rate on real estate investment (0.578). The report suggests that in order to incentivize real estate investment, the government should offer mortgage loans at reasonable rates, control property tax rates, and promote public-private partnerships in infrastructure development.