The finding underlines the capital’s attractiveness as a residential destination besides its dominance in terms of capital and income.
The city continues to witness more construction of residential houses such as maisonettes, town houses and luxury villas in the central areas as well as the periphery.
In Nairobi, these homes are located in Runda, Lavington, Woodley, Syokimau, along Thika Road, Muthaiga and South C among others.
More than 13,000 residential houses were constructed in Nairobi in 2020, far outstripping developments in other towns and cities according to data from Statista.
The finding underlines the capital’s attractiveness as a residential destination besides its dominance in terms of capital and income. The city continues to witness more construction of residential houses such as maisonettes, town houses and luxury villas in the central areas as well as the periphery.
In Nairobi, these homes are located in Runda, Lavington, Woodley, Syokimau, along Thika Road, Muthaiga and South C among others.
“Over 16,200 new private buildings had construction completed in Nairobi, Kenya, as of 2020. Of those, residential constructions were the most numerous, some 13,200,” Statista said.
Nairobi led other counties in the number of new complete residential houses with 13,221, Kisumu at 582, Mombasa 504, Nakuru 484 and Uasin Gishu 332.
Out of the 16,248 buildings, 3,027 were commercial houses built around the country and predominantly in Nairobi’s central business district and Westlands.
Mombasa had 170 complete commercial houses while Kisumu had 61 at the end of the review period.
Other counties combined including Trans Nzoia, Kiambu, Nyeri, Kakamega, Embu, Machakos and Meru accounted for 2,333 buildings completed with 1,932 being residential homes.
“The country's capital registered a far higher number of finished buildings in comparison to other counties. In Mombasa, Kenya's second-biggest city, 504 new residential and 170 non-residential units were completed,” said Statista.
Nairobi’s population has grown rapidly to more than four million, creating strong demand for housing. The rural-urban migration also continues to add to the capital’s population size.
Besides jobs and business opportunities, Nairobi also draws people seeking better healthcare, infrastructure, lifestyle and education.
Most of the new houses are built by private developers who sell them to rich and upper-middle-class households. Data from the Central Bank of Kenya shows that mortgage accounts stand at less than 30,000, indicating the majority of the houses sold by private developers are bought for cash.
A significant volume of houses is also built by individuals for their own occupation, especially in the outskirts where land is relatively cheaper.
