Nairobi, Feb. 3 -- The move by the State-backed Kenya Mortgage Refinancing Company (KMRC) to double the size of subsidised home loans to Sh8 million hands more middle-income Kenyans an opportunity to own a house.

The high cost of construction materials and rising prices of new units have made it harder to own a home.

KMRC has raised the funding for the purchase of homes to Sh8 million in the city and Sh6 million in the rest of the country, meaning that mortgages, especially under the affordable home schemes or from the middle-class who have the leeway to mix funders, will increase.

The mortgage refinancing company says it will continue to adjust the regulations as the real estate environment evolves and one of the adjustments it should...