Nairobi — Kiambu land prices rose the fastest in Nairobi's satellite towns amid high speculation that shot up costs.
Realtor HassConsult Quarter Four Land Price Index shows that an acre of land in the area increased by 9.4 percent in the last quarter of 2023 to Sh47.3 million.
While Syokimua came in second in price hike at 5.5 percent to Sh32.7 million, Ngong followed with 4.8 percent to Sh35 million.
Other satellite towns whose costs went up are Ruiru (four percent) and Mlolongo (3.7 percent), among others.
HassConsult links better access infrastructure along the Thika Road, Mombasa Road, and Ngong Road to a growth in land prices in residential towns.
"Kiambu, which has recently perceived overpricing on high speculation, jumped to the head of the queue in quarterly price growth at 9.4 percent, pointing to renewed demand from investors looking to take advantage of the price stagnation seen in previous months," said Sakina Hassanali, Head of Development Consulting and Research at HassConsult.
In the suburbs of Nairobi, Muthaiga leads in land prices after an acre of land grew by 3.7 percent to Sh222.4 million.
The leafy suburb was followed by Ridgeways at 3.6 percent to Sh87.2 million and Loresho at 3.1 percent to Sh106 million, among others.
"Instructively also, the average price per acre in the suburbs has now crossed the Ksh200 million mark, helped by fast rise of prices in areas such as Langata, Ridgeways, Loresho, Muthangari which offer a mix of affordability, ease of access and mixed use zoning," Hassanali said.
Ridgeways, Spring Valley, and Langata house prices in the period grew by 4.9 percent, 4.4 percent, and 4.4 percent, respectively, in commuter towns.
In the outskirt towns, Juja led with 4.6 percent, followed by 4.4 percent and Athi River with 3.8 percent.
"Although the weaker currency raises input costs for developers on ongoing and future projects, it makes the Kenyan property market attractive to foreign investment, buoying asking prices due to augmented demand from these investors," Hassanali stated.
