The Kenya Bankers Association report released on Friday the 1 st November reported house prices in Kenya hitting a three year low.
KBA Housing Price Index, which tracks the sector’s dynamics and price movements every quarter, showed that prices in the country barely rose in the three months to the end of September, going up by only 0.42 per cent. This was attributed to the decline in credit growth in the country since the interest rates capping law as well as the political cloud that has been hovering in Kenya since Q2 of 2017.
Areas popular among majority of foreign investors such as Muthaiga, Karen, Kiambu, Kilimani all recorded a drop in demand of property as well as property prices.
Despite this there are areas and property that still rake in returns for investors. Karen for example has seen a drop in prices of Townhouses by -7.1% between Q4 2016 and Q4 2017. Within the same period, houses recorded a 7.7% increase in price from Ksh65 Million to Ksh 70 Million. Rental gains for both properties rose between Q4 2016 and Q4 2017, with rental price for houses increasing by 5.9% and those for townhouses increasing by 9.8%.
For Investors seeking to try their hand in Karen, houses are the best investment option at the moment. They bring in the highest return in a 12 month period of 11.9% which are largely contributed by the capital gains as compared to townhouses whose return is 4.2% within the same period.
Read more here: Data Fintech Real Estate Global October 2017
