Mega golf estate driving up property prices in Murang’a

The development of a luxury golf estate between Kabati and Kenol towns on the Thika Superhighway has sent land and property prices through the roof as investors scramble for property in the neighbourhoods.

Conservative estimates show land prices have gone up about 1,200 per cent in the last ten years within the locality as investors and speculators dig in for what is promising to be big value acquisition, judging from the developments planned in the area, which is within the Nairobi metropolis.

Investors and developers who are scrambling to own land near the upcoming Thika Greens Golf Estate anticipate the “luxury city’s” growing population and international appeal, coupled with the planned development of a metro railway station and Murang’a University Constituent College in the locality, will continue to support the price increases.

two phases

According to Thika Greens Ltd Managing Doirector Charles Kibiru, the average price for a piece of land measuring about eighth of an acre in the first phase of the development was Sh1.2 million, but similar piece of land in phase two of the project now costs between Sh8 and Sh15 million, depending on how close it is to the golf course.

“The price has escalated because of the development of the golf course, infrastructure and provision of amenities like water and electricity. The property is about 55 kilometres from Nairobi. The plots are serviced and appeal to a legion of investors who want to live a quiet, luxurious life away from the hassles of Nairobi,” says Kibiru.

Thika Greens, credited with opening up the area, sits on 1,706 acres.

George Kamande, an official with a local farmers cooperative society that has been buying and sub-dividing land and allocating to its members, says the price of half an acre of land in the region has been ranging from Sh13 million to Sh15 million since the last quarter of 2015.

According to Property Nest MD Adam Abdalla, the current appreciation of land values in the area is nearly 10 times what it was in early 2006.

“The sudden interest in land, low interest loans and a flood of cash being pumped into the real estate sector by people from the diaspora have made commercial real estate look attractive compared to bonds and other assets,” says Abdalla.

The new reality has not only seen property values drastically rise around the Thika Superhighway stretch between Kabati and Kenol, but has also resulted in a frenzy of land subdivisions as more landowners change their agricultural land into commercial.

owner-occupied

Fuelling the phenomenon is a crop of current and retired civil servants and businessmen from Nairobi and other neighbouring towns with the aim of acquiring land to put up owner-occupied and rental houses.

Besides the planned developments in the area, there is demand for hostels. Already, some rental buildings have been transformed into hostels to house an ever-growing population of college students within the area.

Kabati and Kenol towns are witnessing an upsurge in the number of multiple-storey commercial buildings. An average business premise at a vantage point is going for Sh10,000 up from Sh3,500 a decade ago.

Thika Greens plans to put in place further infrastructure such as roads, a shopping centre and school to serve homeowners in the area.

The development is expected to cost a total of Sh50 billion. It will have about 4,000 housing units.