Why Nairobi is the continent’s second most expensive city.
A screen shot shared on social media platforms in Nairobi last month indicated the asking price for Lihnari Island in Greece as $3.3 million (Sh344 million). The 95-acre resort has water, access road, 650 Olive trees and good sea views. The neighbourhood is full of luxury homes.
In comparison, the value of an acre in Lavington’s Mzima Springs, Nairobi, was quoted at Sh390 million, according to Business Insider, a US-based financial and business news website.The striking difference lays bare the high cost of land in Nairobi, which stakeholders blame for the slump being experienced in the building sector in the city.
Not suprisingly, Nairobi has acquired the dubious status of the Second Most Expensive city in Africa after South Africa’s Johannesburg. An Arcadis report titled 2019 International Construction Costs – Smart Decisions Crating Long Term Value – also ranked Nairobi 86th most expensive town globally.
Arcadis is a leading global design and consultancy organisation for natural and built assets. It has ranked cities based on five factors including cost of living, cost of labour and cost of materials, quality and complexity of projects. The study also forecasts that Kenya’s growth in construction industry value will hit eight per cent this year, the fourth fastest increase in the world after Iceland, Qatar and Phillipines.
“High land prices means investors have to sell property at higher cost. If the economy fails to perform, the resulting slump impacts on the property market,” says architect Mugure Njendu, President Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK).
A4 Architects founder, Francis Gichuhi, says a half an acre in Stekene city, Belgium —a property surrounded by public amenities — costs about Sh5 million. “Yet a property in the hinterland of Kiserian, Kajiado county, away from tarmac, without water, electricity or security, can cost Sh10 million,” he says.