THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAGAZINE ISSUE #006 The African Business Fortune Magazine | Page 24

THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE - REAL ESTATE

Kenya’s residential property market shifting to multi-unit housing
By Olive Gerro

H

ousing prices in the Kenya’s
residential real estate market
stabilized late last year – signaling a sharp rise in demand for
apartment units.
On the other hand costs of land have
skyrocketed in equal measure.
According to the latest housing price
index by Kenya Bankers’ Association
(KBA), released in January this year,
average housing prices edged up by

just 1.14per cent in the last three months
of 2015. This marked the third consecutive quarter with a less than 2 percent
period-on-period increase.
While average housing prices have declined, land prices in the capital (Nairobi)
have recorded significant growth over the
last decade. Prices in Nairobi have risen
five-fold since 2007, with average land
costs in the city up 9 per cent in 2015.
Upper Hill area of Nairobi had the most

24 THE AFRICAN BUSINESS FORTUNE MAY - JUNE 2016

expensive land in 2015, averaging around
Sh206.2m ($2m) per hectare, land prices in
outlying areas, such as Kitisuru, Loresho and
Gigiri, increased at the fastest pace.
A survey done by housing consultancy
HassConsult, found that land prices in Nairobi’s satellite communities rose by around
11.9 per cent last year, almost three percentage points ahead of comparable acreage in
the city centre.
In Kiserian, a satellite community south-