Seven towns located in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area which includes Nairobi, Kajiado, Kiambu and Machakos counties witnessed significant growth in the value of land following an increase in the number of land buyers between July and September — the third quarter of the year.
Hassconsult in its third quarterly report released on October 22, disclosed that land prices in Limuru, Kiserian and Parklands towns of Nairobi appreciated. Other towns located within the country's capital where land prices rose include Mlolongo, Thika, Kileleshwa and Lang’ata.
According to the report, Parklands, which has had a surge of development activity for both commercial and residential developments in the last two years led the market with a land price increase of 3.4 per cent to an average of Ksh434.2 million per acre.
Langata and Kileleshwa towns also made a strong showing with gains of 2.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively, with the survey indicating that the demand for land shifted to such towns that support multi-dweller units in a market that remains price-sensitive in a tough economy.
In Nairobi's satellite towns, the prices of land in Mlolongo, Thika and Kiserian appreciated by 6.6, 6.3 and 4.7 per cent respectively. In its report, the agency noted that land price growth in the above towns was boosted by upcoming infrastructure developments in the area.
In particular, land pricing in Mlolongo continued to improve due to easier access to the city through the Nairobi Expressway, with the area mix of residential and land industrial developments helping sustain demand for land in Mlolongo.
Meanwhile, in Thika, the Kiambu County Government's recent announcement of a new masterplan to transform the town into an industrial smart city saw developers rush to acquire land in anticipation of a potential jump in demand for housing and commercial space in the area.
Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi's plan also envisages setting up additional roads that would open up the outlying areas of Thika for commercial development, creating new jobs that will attract demand for residential units.
“The leading suburbs in quarterly land price growth have emerged as the city's hotspots for apartment and mixed-use developments, hence the demand-driven price increase,” said Sakina Hassanali, Head of Development Consulting and Research at HassConsult.
“However, land prices are more dynamic in satellite towns compared to suburbs, due to evolving development plans and the impact of new infrastructure on buyer behaviour,” she added.
The land price growth in these seven towns was mainly supported by rising land demand for new developments, as the real estate sector continued its recovery from a prolonged slump.
Land prices in the said towns have now gone up by more than one per cent, in each of the last four quarters, breaking the prior run of 26 straight periods of sub-one per cent growth.
