Why land prices in Nakuru are skyrocketing

Perimeter fence and graded access roads at Username Investment Nakuru projects. [File, Standard] Ongoing and upcoming infrastructural developments in Nakuru County are causing land prices to shoot up. As road networks improve, high-rise residential and commercial buildings are also cropping up also leading to rising property prices. Slums have paved the way for middle-class estates like such as Kwaronda and Bondeni, thanks to the Kenya Urban Support Program (KUSP) funded by the World Bank. The Bretton Woods institution is also working with Nakuru County Government on a Sh2 billion refurbishment of Afraha Stadium, according to Nakuru County Director of Sports Alice Gekonde. Monthly rent for a two to three-bedroom flat in the areas surrounding the stadium now averages between Sh20,000 and Sh40,000. Full tarmacking of link roads in all parts of the city has opened up businesses, which have spread to the Nakuru central business district (CBD). Slums upgrade has benefitted from the Kenya Urban Support Program (KUSP) funded by the World Bank while those in upmarket areas and CBD are the works of private developers. Leonard Wamalwa, a geomatic engineer, attributed the rise in land prices to all these developments adding that prices of some plots in the city are beyond the reach of the working middle class. "The sharp rise in land prices in residential areas in town and next to the CBD has forced the city's expansion to extend to its outskirts where land is a bit affordable to the working middle class," he said. Wamalwa, who works for Mugendi & Associates Surveyors, said the most expensive residential land lies in Milimani Estate where half an acre sells at Sh20 million. Bylaws in Milimani Estate limit the sub-division of land to half an acre, a development that shows the location is catching up with some of Nairobi's affluent areas such as Karen. "Not every Tom, Dick, and Harry can afford land here. This is because of the strict bylaws set for the area," he said. Section 58, Kiamunyi and KITI Estates are the next expensive areas in the eastern part of the city that have attracted those who want to build homes. A quarter acre in Section 58 Estate sells at between Sh10 and Sh15 million but most of it is residential flats. A quarter acre in Kiamunyi goes for between Sh1.6 and Sh3million depending on its closeness to main roads and other development amenities like water, electricity, and sewer systems. However, Kiamunyi has no sewer systems. "As the city keeps on developing, it'll come with a rise in different land properties across the region and this is good for our economy as it spurs development," said Wamalwa. Roads Engineer John Otiato noted that the improvement of the city's road network had spurred business and development. "Even as Kenya's first three cities continue with their development plans and projects, Nakuru is also in tow," he said.

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Why land prices in Nakuru are skyrocketing

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