Peace Kabunga, the Executive Director at Housing Finance Bank
Experts and analysts have urged investors in the housing and mortgage sector to redirect their search for opportunities in the residential sub-sector due to the shrinking demand for space in the commercial office and trade spaces brought about by the increasing use of digital solutions.
This was disclosed during a webinar organized by Housing Finance Bank on Tuesday under the theme ‘dissecting the impact of COVID-19 on housing and mortgage sector.’
The online meeting attracted experts from various fields including banking, real estate and property management among others.
Peace Kabunga, the Executive Director at Housing Finance said due to the changing customer needs in the housing and mortgage sector, there is need to look out for emerging opportunities and adapt to the customers’ needs through product innovation.
“We need to work together in strong partnerships on product innovation because there is a shift in customer needs. We need products that seize the emerging opportunities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers now have no money to build at a quick pace,” Kabunga said, calling on stakeholders to come up with affordable housing units.
She also cautioned banks to be aware of cyber crime as they digitalize and urged them to put in place measures to reduce on risks.
“We are on a journey of transformation. Let’s seize the opportunities with different services, solutions. Stakeholders that will provide real time interventions, models that will reduce the use of bigger spaces, will thrive post COVID-19,” she said.
Judy Kyanda Rugasira, the Managing Director at Knight Frank Uganda explained that the COVID-19 pandemic brought in different experiences unlike other tradition crises that she said needs unique responses.
Kyanda advised real estate developers to cope up with the behavior and environmental changes which need shared burden bearing between tenants and landlords.
She acknowledged that there is a low density use of building spaces which trend she said is likely to continue.
Allan Mugisha, the Managing Partner at S-M Cathan Property said real estate sector players need to devise resilient collaborative strategies to mitigate the environment in which they are operating.
He noted that if investors can embark on business synergies that have little effect on the progressive loss, they can gain future rewards and restart the engine for cash movements in the economy.
He also added that investors should think about the residential sub-sector as the demand for commercial space is declining.
It is important to note that Uganda currently faces a housing deficit of 2.1 million housing units, growing at a rate of 200 000 units a year. In 2030, the deficit is expected to reach 3 million units.
By Drake Nyamugabwa
