Paul Arithi 
HassConsult has unveiled its land index for the first quarter of the year showing that prices in Nairobi’s suburbs
and satellite towns grew at a slower pace compared to the previous quarter on falling demand due to tighter economic
conditions and uncertainty around building approvals at the Nairobi County offices.
Land prices in Nairobi’s suburb grew minimally at 0.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, and by 5.0 percent over a one-year period.
Uncertainty over the validity of Nairobi County planning approvals has reduced momentum in land acquisitions, as developers face limited visibility on buildable parameters.
Five suburbs including Muthangari (-2.8 percent), Loresho (-2.0 percent), and Kitisuru (-1.5 percent) reported lower land prices, while Nyari and Langata stood out with respective price growth of 3.1 percent and 2.4 percent.
Nairobi satellite towns’ land prices grew at 0.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, the slowest pace of expansion in five years.
Half of the city’s 14 satellite towns had negative price movement in the quarter, including previous growth hotspots Athi River (-2.5 percent), Ngong (-1.7 percent), and Syokimau (-0.7 percent).
Satellite towns continue to moderate after sharp rally that saw the average price per acre go up by 50 percent in the last five years to KES. 33 million.
Property prices in Nairobi rose in the first quarter of 2026, helped by a vibrant house segment that buoyed the market on sustained demand for standalone units, even as sluggish apartment sales continued to oversupply.
According to the HassConsult Property Price Index for the first quarter of 2026, overall sale prices in Nairobi’s suburbs
rose by 1.1 percent in the period, up from 0.8 percent in the previous quarter,while prices in the city’s satellite towns fell
by 0.9 percent, compared to a marginal growth of 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Lavington led the suburbs in quarterly house price growth at 4.2 percent, followed by Spring Valley at 4.0 percent and
Kilimani at 3.9 percent.Prices in Karen, Loresho and Westlands all grew at 3.8 percent.
In the suburban apartment market,Muthangari and Riverside were the standouts with a growth of 3.8 percent and 1.8
percent respectively, but overall performance in the segment was dampened by price declines of 2.8 percent in
Westlands and 2.5 percent in Upperhill.
In the Nairobi satellite towns, property prices contracted across the spectrum, as buyers felt the impact of the tough
economy that has affected demand in the price sensitive middle class market that is key for the section.
“House sale price growth in the suburbs partly stems from undersupply of units and bullish increases in many city suburbs, led by the likes of Lavington and Spring valley.
The correction in apartment prices reflected increased supply, moving to saturation in some areas,” said Sakina Hassanali, the HassConsult Co-CEO & Creative Director.
“In the satellite towns, rising living costs and limited household incomes reduced buyers’ ability to afford homes, leading to price correction in both houses and apartments segments.”
In the rental market, asking prices in the satellite towns went up by 1.4 percent in the quarter compared to 1.2 percent in
quarter four of 2025, while prices in the suburbs were up by a slightly lower margin of 1.3 percent compared to 1.5
percent in the previous quarter.
In the Nairobi Satellite towns, only Kiserian (-2.0 percent) and Ruiru (-1.6 percent) reported lower asking rents for houses, as Juja (4.0 percent) and Ngong (3.9 percent) led in price growth.
Langata had the biggest decline in both houses and apartment rental prices in the suburbs at 3.2 percent and 2.9 percent respectively.
Westlands and Gigiri led in house rent growth at 4.3 percent and 4.2 percent respectively, as Riverside and Muthangari led in the apartments segment with increases of 3.6 percent and 3.2 percent in asking rents.
The overall price correction in the suburbs, however, indicated that affordability could be nearing a ceiling following
several quarters of bullish price growth.
The average rent in the suburbs crossed the Ksh200,000 mark for the first time within this quarter to reaching Ksh201,832, as average rent in the satellite towns also touched a record high of Ksh64,765.
These prices helped keep rental yields in the suburbs at an unchanged 7.4 percent in the quarter, while the yield in the
satellite towns went up from 5.2 percent in December 2025 to 5.3 percent in March 2026.
