Kiambu County has been named the best place to own property in Kenya, according to a report by a Real Estate firm HassConsult.
The ranking is predicated on the rise of the price of land in the county in the past five years, which is higher than other counties.The report shows that land prices in Kiambu rose at an average rate of 14.72 per cent over the past five years followed by Kisumu at 12.74 per cent and Nakuru at 12.70 per cent.Several factors have led to the rise in the price of land in Kiambu including its proximity to the country’s capital Nairobi, with buyers opting for the county over Nairobi over price variations.“Land prices in Kiambu, located 16km from Nairobi, continued to rise even during the election year, driven by developers’ search for affordable land in areas with close proximity to the country’s capital,” said HassConsult, as quoted by Business daily.Areas in the county which topped the list of land price increase included Ruaka area which recorded the highest land price inflation that pushed the cost of one acre from Sh43.9 million to Sh83.1 million in five years and Kahawa Sukari area which also recorded higher price growth over the said period.Kisumu has also seen a fast growth of land prices regardless of the many political ups and downs in the past few years.“Kisumu has experienced a real estate boom as developers cash in on rising demand for housing, buoyed by reasonable land prices. Infrastructure development, and growth in the hospitality and real estate sectors, shopping malls as well as benefits of devolution have helped attract investors from other towns,” said Sakina Hassanali, the firm’s head of development consulting.