Nakuru land prices jump 9,900pc in just four years

Over the past 48 months, the average price of an acre of land in Nakuru has risen 9,900 per cent buoyed by sustained demand for residential and commercial property in the town.

The average price per acre was Sh1.2 million in 2011, but is more than Sh120 million today.

“Four years ago, an acre of land in the town centre was worth between Sh1 million and Sh5 million, but today without Sh100 million and above, no property owner can agree to negotiate with you,” said Samuel Juma, a manager at Jojean Property Ltd.

Most of Nakuru’s land purchases are for commercial purposes, with investors putting up office buildings, shopping malls and campuses to accommodate the rising number of youths seeking higher education.

Private and public universities have, for example, established new campuses in strategic locations within Nakuru town to meet the needs of their students.

Mount Kenya University, which has received approval to build a 10-storey campus in Nakuru, already boasts two learning centres in the town. Other institutions with campuses in Nakuru are Egerton University (two campuses), JKUAT, Kenyatta University, Methodist, St Paul’s and several commercial colleges.

Prices of land in Nakuru suburbs have also gone up by huge margins as investors rush to build residential properties to accommodate the high number of people moving into the county’s capital town.

For instance, an eighth-acre plot in Pipeline – 15km from the town centre – would go for about Sh20,000 in 2005, but today the same goes for between Sh2.5 million and Sh3 million depending on location.

According to property analysts, the rapid growth in Nakuru and its environs is driven by urbanisation, growing middle-class, significant credit expansion and increased spending on infrastructure by government.

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