Wednesday, October 21, 2015 Land, housing most valuable investments in Nairobi

By JAMES KARIUKI
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A house in Kiserian, a Nairobi suburb. Land and housing developments are the most valuable investments to venture into in Nairobi and its suburbs, says HassConsult in a new report released Wednesday. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• "Land in Juja, Athi River, Kiserian, Kitengela, Mlolongo, Syokimau and Tigoni yielded more than 6.27 per cent return in the last seven years," said HassConsult's marketing manager, Ms Sakina Hassanali.
• Low- and middle-income earners were hardest hit as land prices in the Nairobi suburbs rose 6.3 per cent.
• The Hass Property Index, which tracks commercial and residential properties within Nairobi and its 18 satellite towns, said that rental prices enjoyed a 3.9 per cent in the last quarter under review with Athi River posting a tremendous 6.3 per cent rise.

Land and housing developments are the most valuable investments to venture into in Nairobi and its suburbs, says HassConsult in a new report released Wednesday.

Hassconsult’s research and marketing manager Ms Sakina Hassanali said that investors in the two sectors continued to earn handsome returns as other sectors have been hit hard by the harsh economic climate.

“Compared to returns in other commodities such as gold, cattle and crude oil which have suffered severe drops in the market, house and land prices enjoyed a steady rise twelve times more than gold and 10 times more than cattle in the past seven years under review,” she said. 

HIGH LAND PRICES

Nairobi had the highest land prices with an acre of land going for Sh507 million in Upper Hill, a growth of 8.5 times in the last seven years.

"Land in Juja, Athi River, Kiserian, Kitengela, Mlolongo, Syokimau and Tigoni yielded more than 6.27 per cent return in the last seven years. Investors keen on safe assets and guaranteed returns go for land and housing developments,” said Ms Hassanali.

Kiserian land sales increased 22.8 per cent with marked investments from universities and private developers while Karen’s were up 20.8 per cent. Tigoni recorded a paltry 0.3 per cent while the crime-prone Donholm posted negative -1.4 per cent.

MIDDLE CLASS HIT HARD

Low- and middle-income earners were hit hardest as land prices in the suburbs rose 6.3 per cent, noted Ms Hassanali, adding that: “Attractive returns in satellite towns have driven up land prices as Saccos, investment groups, individuals and companies buy land and subdivide it among their members.”

The Hass Property Index, which tracks commercial and residential properties within Nairobi and its 18 satellite towns, said that rental prices enjoyed a 3.9 per cent rise in the last quarter under review with Athi River posting a tremendous 6.3 per cent buoyed by increased industrial investments that have pushed up demand for rental houses.

She noted that Mololongo posted the highest increase in rental prices of 20.9 per cent, Ngong 4.5 per cent, Gigiri 2 per cent while Spring Valley showed a negative growth of -0.6 per cent.

HassConsult is a real estate firm mainly dealing with high-end and luxury commercial and rental properties.