Demand for standalone homes drives fastest property price growth in 18 months
On a year-on-year basis, prices increased by 7.8 per cent, compared to 4.9 per cent in the 12 months to March 2025.
Demand for standalone houses in Nairobi’s suburbs and nearby satellite towns is pushing property prices to their fastest growth rate in a year and a half, according to the latest HassConsult Property Index.
Property prices rose by 3.75 per cent in the quarter ending June, up from 2.45 per cent in the previous quarter.
On a year-on-year basis, prices increased by 7.8 per cent, compared to 4.9 per cent in the 12 months to March 2025.
“Property sales prices in Nairobi grew at their fastest pace in one-and-a-half years on improving demand for standalone units,” the report states.
Detached houses—such as townhouses and villas—recorded the highest price growth at 5 per cent, outperforming semi-detached units (1.3 per cent) and apartments (1.1 per cent).
“Detached house prices grew at their fastest quarterly pace in nine years, which also reflected in suburbs such as Muthaiga, Karen and Runda, that are largely exclusive of apartments, reporting faster property price growth,” said Sakina Hassanali, Co-CEO at HassConsult.
She added that the rise is being driven by limited supply:
“There is a general lack of supply of detached houses, leading to increased prices.”
Rental market
Meanwhile, the rental market showed a slight dip, with prices falling 0.2 per cent during the quarter, compared to a 0.3 per cent rise in the first quarter. This reflects the impact of job losses and stagnant wages on tenants.
“Landlords are therefore increasingly forced to forego an increase in rent prices in order to protect occupancy in a price-sensitive market,” Sakina said.
Land prices also rose modestly, with Nairobi suburbs outpacing satellite towns in growth for the first time in five years. Land in the suburbs rose by 1.6 per cent, down slightly from 1.7 per cent in the previous quarter, while satellite towns recorded a 1.25 per cent increase, down from 2.4 per cent.
All 18 Nairobi suburbs surveyed posted positive price changes. Spring Valley (2.3 per cent) and Parklands (2.2 per cent) led with the highest growth.
In contrast, satellite towns like Athi River, Juja, Kiambu, Kitengela, and Mlolongo saw the slowest land price growth in two years. HassConsult links this to declining demand from the middle class, who are feeling the pinch of the tough economy.
As conditions worsen, the once-high demand for affordable land in outlying areas is dropping, affecting growth in towns such as Kiserian, Kitengela, Ngong, Ongata Rongai, Juja, and Thika.
“Developers are also keeping an eye on potential oversupply of apartments in these satellite areas, which has started to manifest in stagnant rental prices and falling sales prices for units in a majority of the towns,” Sakina added.
The slowdown comes after satellite towns enjoyed six straight quarters of strong land price growth, with average annual increases reaching a seven-year high of 12.5 per cent last year.
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