Apartment rents in Nairobi decline for first time in 15 years

 

Ms Sakina Hassanali during the release of Hass Property Index at the Stanley Hotel in Nairobi on January 25, 2016. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA 

By JOHN GACHIRI, jgachiri@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The Hass Property Index for the fourth quarter says the asking rents for apartments fell by 2.3 per cent.
• The index tracks advertised rents and land prices in 18 major suburbs in Nairobi and 14 satellite towns.
• Average rent for one to three-bedroom apartments that are tracked by the index is Sh71,748.

The average rent for an apartment in Nairobi fell slightly in the last quarter of 2015 for the first time since the Hass Property Index was introduced in 2000, the latest real-estate survey shows.

The Hass Property Index for the fourth quarter says the asking rents for apartments fell by 2.3 per cent.

Hass Consult head of research and marketing Sakina Hassanali said the rise in land prices, especially in Nairobi County, has increasingly resulted in developers putting up many apartments where standalone houses stood in order to make efficient use of land.

The result has been a surge in the number apartments which now account for 60 per cent of the rental property market.