Nairobi satellite towns sells lands at high prices

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Juja, Ruiru and Limuru have recorded the fastest growth in land prices among Nairobi satellite towns over the past one year as ongoing and proposed infrastructure developments attract land speculators and housing developers.

The HassConsult property index for the third quarter of 2016 shows the price of an acre of land in Juja has gone up by 43.1 per cent over the past one year to Sh10 million on average, followed by Ruiru at 42.9 per cent to Sh21.3 million and Limuru at 34.9 per cent to Sh19.4 million.

Juja and Ruiru have gained in recent years from the ease of access brought by the expansion of Thika Highway, as well as the proposed commuter rail, while Limuru land prices are being driven up by the ongoing construction of the Western Bypass.

HassConsult reports that land prices for the satellite town of Nairobi in general have gone up at a faster pace of 21.4 per cent compared to the suburbs, where prices have grown by 5.67 per cent in the past year.

“Property and rent prices in Nairobi suburbs are subdued. The only real and massive change is in the land prices in the satellite towns, which is the only sector of the market that is bucking the trend at the moment,” said HassConsult head of research and marketing Sakina Hassanali.

“This is to be expected when you have the big infrastructure spend by the government in these areas. The people who are buying are land speculators and developers who want to use the new accessibility to provide property that is within reach of more people.”

Other satellite towns that have benefited from infrastructure driven price rallies include Ruaka, which lies on the Northern Bypass, at an annual growth of 32 per cent in price to Sh74.7 million an acre, and Thika town at 25.8 per cent to Sh18.1 million shillings an acre.

Satellite towns located along roads that are prone to congestion have recorded much slower growth in land price.

The Hass survey shows that the price of an acre in Mlolongo has fallen by 16.5 per cent over the past year to Sh23.3 million and Athi River’s has only grown a marginal 0.3 per cent to Sh11.2 million. Both are accessible using the chaotic Mombasa Road.

Some suburbs have, however, outperformed the sector average price growth, especially those located within reach of the Southern Bypass and Outer Ring Road, whose expansion is ongoing.

As a result, the price of an acre in Donholm has gone up by 34 per cent in the past 12 months to Sh60.8 million and that of an acre in Lang’ata is up by 14 per cent to Sh54.8 million.

On the rental and house sales side, the growth has been modest across all areas of the city compared to land purchase prices.