Why women are becoming Kenya's new land buyers

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Women are becoming an increasingly important market for Kenya’s property industry as more young investors buy land to build financial security and accumulate assets they can control.

The shift is changing the profile of land buyers and creating demand for property products that accommodate investors with limited incomes but a willingness to build wealth gradually.

For the property industry, the trend opens a growing market among women who were traditionally less likely to own titled land or use property as an investment. It also creates opportunities for developers, estate agencies, lenders and savings cooperatives to develop products that respond to their financing needs.

However, the rise in female property buyers comes against a market where access to land and credit remains uneven. Women who lack title deeds often cannot use property as collateral to finance businesses or other investments.

At the same time, young women are increasingly looking beyond traditional inheritance arrangements and choosing to build their own property portfolios, creating a new customer base for an industry that has long relied on investors with greater access to capital.

The shift is visible in the changing customer base of property companies.

At Unique Investors Property (UIP) for instance, women account for more than 80 per cent of the 8,000 investors who have bought land through the company over the past decade.

UIP Chief Executive Officer Patrick Malika says the trend reflects changing attitudes towards property ownership, although women still face barriers to acquiring titled land and accessing credit.

“Kenya being a patriarchal society and pushed by customary practices means that less than two per cent of land titles in the country are held by women,” Malika says.

The challenge does not end with acquiring land. Without title deeds, many women cannot use property as collateral to finance businesses or other investments, while valuation and borrowing costs can make smaller parcels difficult to leverage.

Property companies and financial institutions are therefore facing demand for financing options that allow smaller investors to build assets gradually and access credit.

UIP supports a Real Estate Investors Savings and Credit Cooperative Society (SACCO), through which members can purchase at least five shares and save a minimum of Sh2,000 a month.

After six months of active membership, members can borrow up to three times their savings, with title deeds serving as security.

The approach reflects an emerging focus in the property market on helping investors derive financial value from land after purchase.

Among the young women entering the market is Eva Njeru, who recently paid Sh50,000 towards a Sh250,000 plot in Mountain View, Kajiado County.

For Njeru, buying land is also a way of gaining control over an asset in a society where inheritance has often favoured sons.

“Most parents or most fathers do not count their female children when it comes to inheritance,” Njeru explains.

She notes the assumption that daughters would marry and acquire property through their husbands has left many women without assets they can independently control.

“We can see more and more women coming up to buy property and getting their title deeds,” she says.

But the growth in female property ownership does not remove the financial barriers facing buyers.

Unemployment, low incomes and limited access to affordable financing continue to restrict entry into the property market.

Small property owners can also face valuation and other borrowing costs that make it expensive to use their land as collateral.

For the property industry, the growing participation of women represents both a new market and a financing challenge. Companies and financial institutions that can make property investment more accessible could tap a wider pool of investors seeking to build wealth through land.

The shift also points to a changing property market in which women are becoming not only buyers of land but owners seeking to use their assets to access credit, finance businesses, and build wealth across generations.