Estates Where Rent Has Been Dropping in Nairobi

As the country continues to grapple with the tough economic times, landlords within the Nairobi metropolis opted to lower rental prices in various estates. 

According to quarterly reports by real estate firm HassConsult, the drop in rental prices was witnessed in both suburbs and the Nairobi satellite towns. 

Here are some of the estates that registered a drop, the period, and the reasons behind the trend;

Quarter 1

Between January and March, only two estates within Nairobi registered a drop in rental prices. The two estates were Muthaiga and Ridgeways.

According to the report, Kenya’s economy was stabilizing during that period, hence few landlords opted to reduce their rental prices.

Conversely, most landlords in various estates opted to increase their rental prices.

“In Nairobi's 18 suburbs and 14 satellite towns, only Muthaiga and Ridgeways reported falling rental prices in the quarter. All the others managed to increase their asking rents, albeit on a smaller scale compared to the previous quarter,” read the report in part.

“Although inflation has fallen since the beginning of the year, the economy remains generally subdued, muting growth in rental yields to 6.9 percent in March from 6.7 percent in December 2023.”.

Quarter 2

As reported by the real estate firm, landlords in 5 estates opted to reduce rent between May and June.

This was occasioned by the taxation policies of the Kenya Kwanza administration and the rising cost of living. Some of the taxes that were taking effect in that period include the 1.5 percent Housing Levy.

The government had also proposed new taxation policies through the Finance Bill 2024.

The estates included Kileleshwa, Muthaiga, Langata, Riverside, and Upper Hill.

“Rental prices experienced a slight increase of 0.01 percent in the quarter,” HassConsult documented in its Q2 Property Index report.

“Property owners are cautious about raising rents to retain tenants amid higher taxes and inflation, which has constrained disposable income.”

Quarter 3

Unlike in Q2, most of the rent drop between July and September was witnessed in the satellite towns.

The estates highlighted were Gigiri, Kiserian, Ngong, Mlolongo, Kitengela, Limuru and Tigoni.

As explained in the report, property owners and landlords were cautious about the rent they charged their tenants given the political and economic uncertainties occasioned by the anti-Finance Bill 2024 protests.

“Asking rental prices contracted by 0.6 percent, having been flat in the previous period,” HassConsult added in its report.

“Protests that affected the country during the year in June and July saw cautious pricing in a period of uncertainty, dampening the market that was coming off a period of strong price growth in the last quarter of 2023 and the first half of 2024.”