Security boosts Murang’a town property sector

Improved security following the easing of tension between the government on the one hand and rival outlawed gangs on the other has sparked a scramble for property in Murang’a town and its environs.

The return of investors from the neighbourhood and the wider Central Kenya has seen property value rise sharply, with land owners changing user status from agriculture to commercial in readiness for subdivision to smaller units that are more affordable.

Influencing the boom are retiring civil servants and businessmen who are acquiring land and establishing both owner occupied and rental houses.

District Commissioner George Natembeya says an average plot measuring 50 feet by 100 feet sells at between Sh800,000 to Sh1 million as opposed to Sh200,000 in 2004.

Rental buildings are fast being transformed into hostels to house an ever growing population of college students.

The town boasts of a Kenya Medical Training College, Murang’a Technical College and a dozens of commercial colleges.

“While in 2003 one could have easily rented a two bedroom house at a monthly charge of Sh1,000, currently it goes for an average of Sh4,000,” Mr Natembeya says.

A single room in middle income estates goes for Sh4,000 up from Sh2,000 in 2006,” he adds.

A major worry for investors is the emergence of bogus land surveyors and unscrupulous property brokers who are being blamed for causing confusion in the property sector.

Simon Ngure, a property agent with Fast Sale Property Agents based in the town, says residential estates are popping up by the day as older ones are spruced up as investors take over dilapidated houses.

Upgraded infrastructure

He attributes the move to improved security, upgraded infrastructure, and affordable raw materials such as stones which are readily available in nearby quarries.

Mr Natembeya says improved living standards among locals who are reaping the benefits of improved returns on agricultural activities has resulted in investment in the real estate sector.

The area is a producer of tea, horticultural and dairy products.  

“The quality of living has improved and savings have gone up, enabling many to invest in the sector,” he says.

Testimony to improved earnings in the region, he says, includes reopening of banks that had closed shop following the 1990’s economic crunch.

He says they are holding talks with banks to extend affordable mortgage loans to civil servants and farmers.

George Githuka, an investor who plans to put up residential houses says: “The council lacks a master plan for urbanisation. There is no coordinated development plan and this is a serious impediment to investors who fear incurring losses if they develop property in wrong areas.”

The council acknowledges this challenge and in a paper, prepared to guide urbanisation, cites numerous challenges dogging the property market.

Town Clerk Sammy Njogu says land subdivision is a major problem.

“It is a challenge and we are doing all in our powers to redress the situation. We are in the process of preparing a spatial framework to guide and control the vibrant developments being experienced in the region,” he says.

Complaints from residents

In response to complaints from residents and investors that the town lacks a solid waste management system, Mr Njogu says the council will soon announce solid waste collection points and that resources will be pumped into establishing a sewerage disposal infrastructure.

“This will be after we harmonise and reconcile the Local Government Act and the Physical Planning Act governing the sector,” he says.

He adds that the flourishing developments might pose a danger if the inspectorate department sleeps on the job of ensuring buildings adhered to the law.

“We have to enforce to the letter the Physical Planning Act Cap 286, especially on building plans and other development applications,” he says.

Mr Natembeya says incentives will be extended to people who seek to invest in the region.