Narok’s housing market upturn

Demand for housing in Narok town is rising; after decades of focusing on hospitality establishments, the direction is now changing.

Both an agricultural and tourist town, Narok has had low-key real estate developments, mainly being driven by investors from neighbouring towns like Nairobi and Kisii.

Some of the houses under development in Narok. The town is increasingly attracting real estate investors from Kisii and Nairobi but faces challenges like flooding (left). [PHOTOS: ROBERT KIPLAGAT AND FILE/STANDARD]

But this has since changed with the coming of devolution in 2013. An influx of people into the town has seen demand for rental housing go up.

Real estate investors are now focusing on the town, thanks to cheap land, availability of building materials, good security and its proximity to the country’s capital city, Nairobi, which is just about a three-hours drive away.

According to property dealers, investors used to focus more on hotels and lodges targeting tourists, but the coming of institutions of higher learning like Maasai Mara University and other middle-level colleges has changed the game.

Anthony Kigen, a manager at Upstate Outlets, a real estate agency, tells Home & Away that since the coming of devolution, the number of investors eyeing real estate in the town has increased ‘tremendously’, pushing up the cost of land.

High demand

“The future of real estate in Narok is bright. When we arrived here as an agency, many people wanted houses to rent but there were on a few. We had to advise land owners to develop their properties as the demand was high. That has since changed,” says Kigen.

“Many buyers and developers are from neighbouring towns. Due to its close proximity to these towns, many ‘non-resident’ developers find it easy to operate in this town,” says Kigen.

Currently, he says, a plot which was going for Sh1 million in 2013 goes for at least Sh3 million on the outskirts of the town: Places like Total, Ewaso Nyiro, Ololung’a, Lenana, and Tipis on the Narok-Nairobi Highway.

Despite the immense market for real estates, lack of title deeds is still an impediment to land owners who cannot using their parcels of land to access loans from lending institutions.

Narok town, according to visitors, is expensive to live in compared to other major towns such as Nakuru or even Bomet owing to lack of piped water in many estates.

“Water scarcity in most parts of Narok Township is hurting tenants who have to buy water, pay rent and at the same time pay electricity bills,” says Kigen.

Recently, area Governor Samuel Tunai announced that all plot owners within Narok town would be issued with title deeds for them to be able to borrow finances to develop their properties and boost the county’s economy.

Other challenges include lack of sewerage system, which has forced landlords to resort to using septic tanks for solid waste disposal, which is proving expensive.

Emptying one truck of septic tank is Sh4,000 or more, depending on the number of septic tanks. This has to be done every two or three months.

While acknowledging the impact of lack of water on the development of housing in the town, Japan International Corporation Agency in collaboration with Narok County is constructing a 500 million-litre water dam which is due for completion in 2016.

Development plan

Under the proposed ‘Narok Town Integrated Development Plan 2015’, the town will be designed into zones such as agricultural, tourism, residential, industrial and a sewerage/waste management site.

According to Kigen, the current average house rent is Sh10,000 per month for a two bedroom house in areas such as Majengo and Sh9,000 per month in Total area and around Maasai Mara University.

A bedsitter around the university goes for between Sh6,500 and Sh7,000 per month, while single rooms range from Sh4,000 to Sh4,500 per month.