Online property sites drawing more renters than buyers, says new report

A majority of Kenyans browsing online property sites look for rental apartments, a report by Lamudi, a portal that focuses on emerging markets has shown.

Lamudi, in its first property report for the Kenyan market, says that seven out of 10 users are searching for rental apartments while the rest look for properties to buy.

“Unlike many of its neighbouring countries, where buying and renting interests are somewhat balanced, Kenyans strongly lean towards renting properties. Seventy-one per cent of searches are by house-hunters looking for properties to rent, with only 29 per cent are searching to buy,” said the report.

The report looked at user trends over the last one year. The survey was carried out in 16 countries where the global firm operates.

In Tanzania, the survey shows users who are looking for houses to rent accounted for 35.25 per cent, which Lamudi attributed to the neighbouring country’s government heavy investing in housing.

Kenyan users aged between 25 and 34 years are the most active group accounting for 36 per cent of house-hunters while the most preferred houses are one and two-bedroom apartments.

Users aged between 35 and 44 years were the second most active accounting for 26.5 per cent of traffic.

Lamudi co-founder Kian Moin said that should credit become cheaper it will attract more investors to come and provide units for sale as opposed to rentals.

“Although there is an imbalance between the supply of housing and the current demand, this gap provides investors and developers with a great opportunity to make capital gains and fuel the economy. Especially with lower interest rates, the real estate market has great potential for growth,” said Mr Moin.

The report also showed that most users are accessing the website using desktops, but Lamudi expects increase in smartphones and tablets use in future.

“There exists, however, untapped market potential, as many Kenyans are already making use of other mobile services and with numbers surely to rise in the near future,” said the report.

Lamudi launched a property app in August. Lamudi’s findings mirror those by the Hass Index Home Ownership report which showed that most houses that are sold are rented.

The ownership report said that 75 per cent of all apartments sold to investors, mostly institutional and couples are rented out.

Nancy Muthoni, who co-authored the ownership report, said that these investors sustain the property market that is still churning out maisonettes and apartments even as most Kenyans find it hard to buy homes.

“Institutional buying has also shot up, from less than one in 20 properties to now almost a fifth of all purchases. They explain the ongoing resilience in buying even as most Kenyans remain firmly locked out of home ownership,” said Ms Muthoni.