Second homes: Kenya a favourite location for the world’s richest

A luxury home in Nairobi. Many of the super-rich want to own homes in Kenya

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya is among the top five most popular second home locations for Africa’s wealthiest.

This is according to the Knight Frank Inside View Kenya 2018 report.

It also places Nairobi as a city on the radar of many high net worth investors as seen in the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2017.

“Among the global HNW (high net worth) population, four per cent look to own homes in Kenya — led by UK’s HNW population, 63 per cent of whom express interest in Kenyan property, followed by 16 per cent of South African HNWIs and 11 per cent of Spanish, Mauritian and US HNWIs.

“About five per cent of the super-rich in Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Switzerland, France, Canada and Lebanon are also likely to invest in homes in Kenya,” said the report.

High net worth individuals are typically those with assets of more than $1 million (Sh102 million).

According to the report, the number of Kenya’s high net worth individuals has doubled to around 9,400 over the last decade, making the country home to the fourth highest number of dollar millionaires in Africa.

“Whereas traditionally wealthy Kenyans might have sought a safe haven for their cash in luxury property in South Africa, Dubai, New York or London, they are increasingly seeking high-end products within Kenya itself,” says the report.

This even as Nairobi’s prime residential market is anticipated to recover within the first half of 2018 as the wave of political uncertainty dissipates, ending a period of price correction experienced in 2016 and 2017, according to the Knight Frank Kenya report.

“An oversupply of prime properties for rent is behind the weaker prime rental growth, which has given tenants more leverage to negotiate with landlords. In a market dominated by expatriate tenants, corporate budget cuts by multi-national firms have further influenced the performance of the high-end residential segment,” the report states.

Ben Woodhams, MD at Knight Frank Kenya, said: “Kenya has a long-standing reputation as a destination for holiday home ownership, and with the political turbulence behind us, we are forecasting an increase in such investments in line with a strong economic recovery in 2018.”