Speculative land buys on a decline — report
More Kenyans are acquiring land for development purposes over speculation, especially in Nairobi’s satellite areas.
A report by Hass Consult shows although growth in land prices was significantly slower last year, registering a 1.1 percentage increase, land prices in satellite towns grew at a much faster pace than in Nairobi suburbs.
“We are seeing each area emerge with its own independent market dynamic, driven by its own infrastructure changes, pace of current building and development potential,” Hass Consult head of development Sakina Hassanali said.
Over the past, it has been a trend that many people rush to buy land, with most doing so just for speculation. The land is acquired, often left unattended to, to be sold after it has gained value over time.
Despite the move to land use as opposed to speculation, the Property Index shows that if you made an investment worth Sh1 million in land in the Nairobi satellite towns back in 2007, the value would have gone up 752 per cent to Sh8.52 million.
Land in Juja reported the largest annual growth of 16.5 per cent to cost Sh13.3 million per acre followed by Ongata Rongai which jumped 9.3 per cent to sh20.6 million per acre.
Other towns with significant growth are Ngong priced at Sh20.7 million, Athi River at Sh12.7 million and Mlolongo at Sh26.4 million.
Originally published at www.the-star.co.ke on January 25, 2019.
