The real estate business in Nairobi saw a marginal decline in rental prices in several suburbs and satellite towns during the fourth quarter of last year between October and December.
Hass Consult, in its Fourth Quarterly report published on Wednesday, January 22, announced that rental prices dropped in Karen, Kileleshwa, Muthaiga, Nyari Estate, Runda, Westlands, Kiserian, Ngong and Tigoni.
According to the report, Ngong and Nyari Estate led the list with a significant decline in rent by 2.4 per cent followed by Muthaiga which saw a rent drop by 1.4 per cent.
The significant drop in the rental prices in the listed towns was attributed to the country's tough economy forcing landlords to rent out their houses at cheaper prices.
“Annual rental prices were effectively flat at -0.02 per cent for 2024, reflecting the challenges landlords faced in raising rents amidst tough economic conditions,” read part of the report.
On the flip side, several towns also experienced an increase in rents with Gigiri and Juja leading the list. For instance, in Gigiri, rent soared to a record 6.7 per cent while in Juja and Athi River, rents hiked by 6.4 per cent and 5.7 per cent.
Other Nairobi Estates that saw a rent increase include Kitisuru, Lang’ata, Loresho, Lavington, Limuru, Ongata Rongai, Ruriu, Kiambu Town, and Kitengela.
Addressing stakeholders, Sakina Hassanali, Head of Development Consulting and Research at HassConsult revealed that rent prices in the above estates increased due to the falling inflation.
According to Sakina Hassanali, the dropping inflation improved tenants' purchasing power and similarly allowed landlords to adjust rental prices upwards.
The report also highlighted Nairobi towns where the purchase of houses and apartments was high during the three months. Loresho, Ridgeways, and Runda led among Estates that saw an increase in the uptake of houses.
As per the report, detached house units performed strongly both quarterly and annually due to their limited supply. In contrast, the increasing availability of multi-dweller units such as apartments slowed their price growth.
"The strong annual growth was supported by a rise in detached house prices, which grew 1.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 7.5 per cent year-on-year. However, semi-detached and apartment prices faced pressure in the fourth quarter, with declines of 0.8 and 0.6 per cent respectively," read the report.
