Nairobi City/FILE
Land prices in Nairobi’s satellite towns rose at a higher pace of 2.4 percent compared to 1.9 per cent in the previous quarter, as price growth in the suburbs remained unchanged at 1.7 pe rcent.
HassConsult Land price indices for the first quarter of 2025 indicate that the resilience in land price growth across Nairobi’s satellite towns was backed by higher demand in Kiserian, Juja, and Thika, where prices remain within reach of a wider spectrum of developers and home builders.
This saw 13 of the 14 surveyed satellite towns report higher prices in the period, a slight improvement from the previous quarter when 12 out of 14 towns saw their prices grow also.
“Price affordability was a factor in the performance of the various satellite towns in land price movement in the quarter, showing rising sensitivity among buyers amid tougher economic conditions as towns with a more affordable price entry point outperformed nearby areas with costlier land,” said Ms Sakina Hassanali, Co-CEO and Creative Director at HassConsult.
Kiserian, where an acre costs Sh12.6 million, saw a price growth of 5.0 per cent, compared to nearby Ngong (Sh36.5 million per acre) and Ongata Rongai (Sh28.3 million), whose growth stood at 1.7 per cent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
Similarly, Thika and Juja outperformed Ruiru (2.9 percent) in price growth, with the latter having a higher acre price at Sh36.6 million compared to Thika’s Sh30.2 million and Juja’s Sh24.2 million.
The only satellite town with a price contraction was Ruaka at -0.1 per cent, with the town also having the highest acre price at Sh111.1 million.
In Nairobi’s suburbs, price growth remained consistent as areas such as Karen, Gigiri, and Spring Valley joined apartment development hotpots in seeing rising demand for land.
Sixteen out of the 18 city suburbs posted positive price movement, led by Spring Valley at 3.7 percent, followed by Karen and Upperhill at 2.9 percent each.
Gigiri and Kileleshwa also outperformed the average growth rate, with price appreciation of 2.8 percent in each of the suburbs.
“Although suburbs that have potential for multi dweller units remain in good demand and are therefore recording healthy price growth, some of the zones with limits on such developments such as Karen and Gigiri are also reporting improved prices,” added Ms Hassanali.
The rising prices in these low-density zones show that developers are taking note of the higher sales price growth for detached houses compared to semi-detached units and apartments.
Previous quarterly price growth leader Parklands saw its growth slow down to 1.1 percent from 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, showing early signs that developers are keeping an eye on potential oversupply of apartments in the area and are therefore looking elsewhere for value.