NAIROBI, Kenya, July 23 – Land prices in Nairobi’s satellite towns such as Kiserian, Thika, and Juja cooled off in quarter two (Q2) of this year amid apartment oversupply and stagnant rental prices.
Realtor HassConsult Q2 Land Price Index shows an acre of land in Kiserian grew by 2.8 percent to Sh13 million, which is a decline from a growth of 5 percent in Q1 (January to March).
In Q2, the price of a similar piece of land in Juja expanded by 3.6 percent to Sh25.1 million compared to a growth of 4.6 percent in Q1.
However, an acre of land in Thika fell by -0.2 percent to Sh30.1 million, a steep drop from a growth of 4.6 percent in Q1.
“Developers are also keeping an eye on potential oversupply of apartments in these satellite areas, which has started to manifest in stagnant rental prices and falling sales prices for units in a majority of the towns,” said Sakina Hassanali, Co-CEO & Creative Director at HassConsult.
Unlike satellite towns, Nairobi’s suburbs posted growths, with Parklands and Spring Valley recording the highest gains.
While an acre of land in Spring Valley recorded a growth of 2.3 percent to Sh295.3 million, Westland and Lavington posted 1.9 percent growths each, with the same piece of land going for Sh498.3 million and Sh270.9 million, respectively.
“The Nairobi suburbs have shown consistency in price movement, allowing them to overtake satellite towns in quarterly price growth for the first time in five years. Demand for standalone house units also bodes well for land prices in low density estates, complementing the city’s bright apartment development hotspots,” Hassanali.
