Rising land and mortgage costs push homeownership out of reach for Kenyans
Land in Nairobi's satellite towns averaged KSh 33 million per acre in March 2026, up from KSh 16 million a decade earlier, HassConsult data show. Many buyers spend years building in stages, the Star reports.
Owning a home in Kenya is becoming more expensive and riskier, the Star reported on Monday. Buyers face rising land prices, slow self-build projects and rigid mortgages. Some off-plan developments are never delivered. Morris Ouma bought land in Ruaka, Kiambu County, in 2010 for KSh 1.5 million. Comparable plots there now cost more than KSh 5 million. He has built his house slowly from periodic savings. He told the Star the journey had been long but he was "almost there". Data from property consultancy HassConsult show land in Nairobi's satellite towns averaged KSh 33 million per acre as of March 2026. A decade earlier, the figure was KSh 16 million. At that average, a quarter-acre plot costs about KSh 8.25 million before legal fees, transfer costs and construction. In prime suburbs, an acre averages KSh 231.9 million. Cheaper plots on the city's edge often bring extra costs for roads, water, electricity and security. Building costs are rising more slowly. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics data show construction-input inflation eased to 0.53 per cent in 2025, from 2.83 per cent in 2024. Real estate developer John…
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