This archive report was first published on 7 October 2021.
As the city's rental market slowly recovers, Nairobi's high-end suburbs have emerged as the most expensive places to live. According to the Hass Rental Index, Riverside Drive, known for its high apartment rents of around Sh170,200 monthly, posted the highest corrections of 2.8 per cent in the second quarter of the year.
Langata, with average rents of about Sh85,000, saw a 2.9 per cent increase in the quarter, making it one of the most sought-after suburbs in the city.
Detached houses, mostly used by multinational organisation employees who continue working from home, saw a 3.4 per cent increase in rental prices during the same period.
“Overall property rental prices showed a mild recovery, rising 1.1 per cent in the quarter ending June 2021, firmly driven by the rise in rental pricing of detached houses,” said HassConsult.
However, the firm noted that affordability still appears to be driving the apartment rental market.
On a larger scale, property sales prices dropped 1.7 per cent in a year, attributed to the large annual drops in apartment pricing in Kilimani and Kileleshwa.
Lang'ata, on the other hand, recorded the biggest quarterly and annual sale price increases at 4.1 per cent, retaining its title as the city's most affordable property.
The average rents of mid to upper-class properties have shot up by over 300 per cent in the last 20 years, increasing from Sh38,516 in December 2000 to Sh162,743 in June 2021.
