It
is a forgone conclusion that Kenya’s real estate/property sector is the latest
goldmine craze that has elicited sensation among the investors; small and big.
The sector has remained attractive given its high returns, mostly windfall
[super] normal profits. To date, the industry has continued to
attract investors, both local and international, who have since developed
hundreds of real estate projects more so in the residential segment as the
country faces a shortage of approximately 200,000 housing units annually,
according to the Ministry of Housing & Urban Development. With everyone looking to grab a pie of the
real estate cake, we have had a number of things going wrong, from overpriced
properties to shoddy buildings. However, one of the aftermaths of Kenya’s real
estate boom is the use of agriculturally productive land to put up concrete
jungle. Well, this is a dangerous practice and should be checked by the
government.
Among
the most affected areas include Kiambu and Kajiado Counties which have had
swathes of land converted to real estate jewels while many more are in the
pipeline. Nairobi City County, still remains the metropolis with the highest
opportunities in real estate. According to Hass Consult, a leading real estate
company, annual house prices over 2015 rose by 11.9% in Nairobi satellite towns
while rents rose by an average of 9% pointing to the growing interest in
Nairobi’s metropolis. Counties that make up Nairobi’s metropolis include
Kiambu, Machakos, and Kajiado.
Kiambu
County particularly has been a magnet for property developers owing to its
greenery and tranquility appealing especially to those who are tired of city
life in a concrete jungle. Kiambu and the greater central Kenya region boasts
of some of the best fertile land in the entire country. Some of the leading
projects in Kiambu include Tatu City (2500 acres), Migaa (774 acres), Thika
Greens (1706 acres) and Northern Lights (500 acres) among others.
The
question that lingers is, what will we do when all the productive land is used
to put up properties? It consequently goes without saying that developers’
appetite for agriculturally rich land is indeed a threat to Kenya’s food
security. It is therefore important that a comprehensive policy pertaining to
real estate development should be put into place to safeguard the productive
agricultural lands for the sake of the country’s food security.
