- Hass Consult county land report, covered 10 counties and 75 towns across Kenya.
- Average land prices rose by 7.37 per cent in 2017, compared with 12.07 per cent in 2016.
- The most expensive acre of land surveyed cost Sh189m and the cheapest costs Sh4.5m
Here is what an acre of land costs at these 10 fastest growing Kenyan counties as by the end 2017
Hass Consult county land report, covered 10 counties and 75 towns across Kenya and analysed the towns and suburbs that experienced the greatest growth in land price.
Hass Consult on Tuesday released its first quarterly County Land Prices Report, 2018.
The Hass Consult county land price survey for 2017 revealed a marked slowdown in land price inflation across the ten counties surveyed in Kenya.
Average land prices rose by 7.37 per cent in 2017, compared with 12.07 per cent in 2016.
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“Countrywide, infrastructure development continued to drive strong price growth.” Said HassConsult Head of Development Consulting Sakina Hassanali. “For many investors, the magical key still remains ‘follow the road’”
A critical factor in the slowdown were the uncertainties that came with the prolonged election, seeing many investors hold off from purchasing until the outcome was clear.
The county land report, which covers 10 counties and 75 towns across Kenya, also analysed the towns and suburbs that experienced the greatest growth in land prices, and those that suffered falling land prices, finding evidence of pricing cycles playing out within multiple counties.
Here are ten counties where prices of land has been on a climbing curve since 2012.
Kisumu County
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Located in western Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria, land prices in Kisumu County land market was one of the strongest in the country fueled by their local agricultural economies, and further boosted by the influx of finance and business.
In 2017, land prices in the county rose by 14.05 per cent, which marked a slowdown from the growth of 18 per cent recorded in 2016, but a relatively subdued one.
The average land price for the county closed the year at Sh6.97m ($69,700) per acre, up from Sh3.8m ($38,000) an acre at the end of 2012.
Mombasa County
Kenya’s coastal city and home to East Africa’s largest port as well as the second largest airport in Kenya, Moi International Airport recorded a rise in land prices of 9.87 per cent in 2017.
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The average price per acre to Sh49.8m ($498,000), compared with Sh32.4m ($324,000) at the end of 2012.
Increased security, investor confidence and major infrastructural projects in Mombasa have played a role in stimulating new interest in land buying and development in the county.
Nakuru County
Set 160 km North West of Nairobi and serving as the administrative capital of the former Rift Valley Province, Nakuru County is home to the fourth largest town in Kenya.
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The county’s underlying agricultural wealth has seen its land prices rise by an average 12.7 percent a year from 2012 to 2017.
In 2017, Nakuru County land prices rose by 9.46 per cent, which was only a slightly lower growth than the 11 per cent annual growth registered in 2016.
An acre cost Sh4.5m ($45,000) by year end of 2017, up from Sh2.5m ($25,000) an acre at the end of 2012,
Overall the county has the lowest asking price for land of the 10 counties surveyed.
Machakos County
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From 2012 to 2017, Machakos County’s land prices have risen by an average of 8.54 per cent a year.
In 2017, growth was notably more subdued, at 7.2 per cent, based on stronger price growth in the first half, ahead of some slowdown.
By year end, the average price per acre had consequently climbed to Sh13.3m, ($133,000) compared with Sh8.8m ($88,000) an acre at the end of 2012.
Its proximity to Nairobi, (at 64 km) has positioned it as a lower cost alternative for investors.
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The County government has also invested considerable efforts in marketing the county as a business and investment destination.
Kiambu County
Located in the Central Highlands of Kenya in the former Central Province, close to Kenya's capital, Kiambu is a leading and innovative commercial hub.
Of the ten counties surveyed, Kiambu County recorded the most rapid growth in land prices from 2012 to 2017, at an average 14.72 per cent a year.
Growth was far more moderate across 2017, at 7.3 per cent.
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In 2017, growth in the county͛s land prices even dipped slightly in the third quarter of the year, but picked up again in the final quarter, to reach an average Sh32.3m ($323,000) an acre by the close of Q4, up from Sh16.2m ($162,000) an acre at the end of 2012.
Kilifi County
Set some 56 km northeast of Mombasa, Kilifi relies on tourism and fishing thanks to its proximity to the Indian Ocean.
The county has some of the best beaches and most popular resorts and hotels in Africa. However, its interior has suffered from sometimes severe underdevelopment.
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The County has registered steady linear growth in average land prices over the last five years, and posted growth of 6.92 per cent in 2017.
The county government now plans to upgrade its infrastructure, including at Malindi international airport, and the Kilifi and Kijipwa airstrips, to cater for more visitors and residents, by serving larger aircraft.
Against the backdrop of these ambitions, land prices in Mtwapa, Vipingo Ridge and Kikambala remain the highest in the county.
In Mtwapa, the average price per acre was Sh16.6m ($166,000) at the end of 2012, and Sh23.4m ($234,000) by the end of 2017, remaining the most expensive land in the country, despite slow growth in 2017, of 2.58 per cent.
Kwale County
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Boosting enormous natural resources, ranging across minerals, tourist attractions, forests, fertile soils, 200-miles of coastal strip, vast trust land, and fishing waters, investors have trooped to Kwale in recent years due to it historically low land prices.
Land prices in Kwale County have risen by an average 8.74 per cent a year over the five years since 2012. This steady climb is, nonetheless, the second lowest average growth rate of the 10 counties surveyed.
However, the county’s land prices posted a much better performance in 2017 than the previous year, rising by 6.63 per cent, compared with growth of 3.92 per cent in 2016.
As a result, average land prices per acre closed 2017 at Sh10m ($100,000), up from Sh6.6m ($66,000) an acre at the end of 2012.
Nairobi County
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By the end of 2017, the average land price in Nairobi was Sh189m ($1.89m)an acre.
Uasin Gishu County
In 2017, Uasin Gishu County posted growth of 3.84 per cent in average land prices, which
represented a sharp deceleration from 2016, when prices grew by 17.99 per cent.
The average land price in the county closed 2017 at Sh5.2m ($52,000) per acre, up from Sh3.1m ($31,000) an acre at the end of 2012.
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Kajiado County
Lying at the southern edge of the former Rift Valley Province, about 80km from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, Kajiado County depends largely on livestock rearing and dairy farming to power its economy.
In 2017, the county recorded land price growth of 3.01 per cent, in a sharp deceleration from 2016, when prices rose by 11.50 per cent.
In 2017, the second and third quarters registered the worst growth of the year, with prices falling as election uncertainty took hold, before picking up for the strongest performance of the year in the last quarter.
The late price surge saw the average price per acre close 2017 at Sh9.7m ($97,000), up from Sh6.1m ($61,000) per acre in 2012.
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