Kiambu land prices drop as speculator steam cools

Land prices in Nairobi’s satellite towns in Kiambu County fell last year, halting years of growth that was driven by speculative buying and infrastructure development. 

Realtor HassConsult said in its 2020 quarter four land price index report that Kiambu Town, Ruiru and Limuru had the biggest annual drops in asking prices of 11.4 per cent, six percent and three percent, respectively, with Ruaka and Juja also recording drops of 1.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in that order.

Land prices in the city have generally been subdued since 2019 due to tighter conditions for accessing credit, with the Covid-19 pandemic also hurting demand as buying power diminished due to job losses and pay cuts.

“Land prices in the Kiambu are moving towards a maximum of what the development market can bear, until we see a hike in economic activity and therefore some space for property prices to rise further,” said HassConsult head of development consulting and research Sakina Hassanali.

In contrast, land prices in satellite towns in Kajiado and Machakos counties rose last year.

Ngong was the best performing with an increase of 9.9 percent, followed by Ongata Rongai at 8.2 percent, Mlolongo (5.4 per cent), Kitengela (2.8 per cent) and Athi River at 2.6 per cent.

Overall, land prices in the city’s satellite towns and suburbs dropped by an average of 2.56 per cent compared to 1.69 per cent increase in 2019. 

In the suburbs, the highest increase in land price was recorded in Muthaiga, Runda and Doonholm at 3.9, 2.7 and 2.1 per  cent, respectively.

On the other hand, Parklands led with a price fall of 7.3 per cent, followed by Riverside and Upper Hill at 7.2 and 5.4 per cent, respectively.