People with hopes of acquiring homes in the Vision City estate in Gacuriro Cell, Kinyinya Sector have until the end of this month, according to the developer. According to Alice Ntamitondero, the CEO at Ultimate Developers Limited (UDL), the developer, the apartments are no longer limited to public servants seeking to own a home for the first time. The revised criteria to own a home in the over 500-unit upscale estate only requires the prospective buyer to a subscriber to Rwanda Social Security Fund (RSSB). “We have until the end of January to sell off all the remaining apartments. This time round, all workers who contribute to RSSB are now eligible to apply for the apartments at Vision City that were reduced by 60% of the original price,” she said. UDL is a real estate company that is fully owned by RSSB. Ntamitondero added that under this arrangement, a two-bedroom apartment will be sold at Rwf63,000,000, down from the original price of Rwf108 million (about $125,300). “These apartments have for some time now been selling at a 60% discount because Government of Rwanda offered over 27 billion as infrastructure in tax rebate to ensure they are affordable for all workers be it in civil service or those in private but contributing to RSSB,” says Ntamitondero. Applications for the housing units have been open since October 2018, and will be closed by the end of January. Meanwhile, Ntamitondero moved to allay fears that the price reduction may distort the nascent real estate market in the country, saying that the reduction is still minimal considering the cost of infrastructure in place at this estate. This is the second time UDL is reducing prices. In July last year, UDL reduced the prices of each unit by 30 per cent after receiving an infrastructure tax rebate from the government. To attract investors in high density housing, the government started footing costs of road network, drainage system, sewerage and electrification of sites with a minimum of 60 units. For those seeking to take a loan to buy a home at the estate, banks shall give a loan at 11 per cent repayable over a period of 20 years, according to a statement. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
