Insecurity, high cost of land push property firms to ‘city villages’

Mr Mungai notes the development of such properties allows for value-addition, which further benefit the home buyers.

For instance, when they were developing the Tamarind Meadows near Mlolongo, a bustling peri-urban shopping centre to the east of Nairobi, the company realised water was a major concern.

To lower the overall water bills and ensure availability, they installed a water recycling treatment plant and water-heating solar kits.

“We have developed houses that have solar panels for heating water and recycling to check wastage,” said Mr Mungai.

Innovative solutions

Unpredictable weather patterns have worsened shortage of water, making it a key consideration to any buyer.

Luckily, the developers are picking the cue, even if for them it is to drive sales and improve the bottom line.

“Developers are willing to provide additional services such as security, water services through bore holes, access roads and other auxiliary services which are seen as critical in the purchase of houses,” says Linet Oyugi, a policy analyst with Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (Ipar).

Given that such properties require large tracts of land, developers are relocating to the periphery of urban centres to buy land.

Here, they provide serviced plots for investors interested in coming up with own designs.

The decision by the National Housing Corporation (NHC), a government agency charged with providing affordable housing, to partner with Sahal Construction, a private property developer, to put up 4,500 housing units on a 72-acre land in Mavoko, signals the shift to huge housing plans.

The NHC-Sahal project is seen as the largest housing project in the country, so far.

Estimated to cost Sh12 billion, it will comprise two- and three-bedroom houses.

Analysts see the project helping in reducing home prices at a time rates have been going through the roof, pushed by the increasing cost of materials and the increasing urban population.

The units will be sold for between Sh2.75 million and Sh3.75 million, heralding the lowest market prices.