Karen among world’s hottest suburbs for real estate deals

High net-worth investors looking to buy prestigious property in Kenya this year should consider hunting for deals in Nairobi’s Karen estate, especially those considering a suburb with exclusivity, expected price growth, and compelling lifestyle benefits.

Located 16 kilometres west of the Nairobi central business district, Karen has just been listed among the world’s best urban districts whose location, infrastructure and vibe mean they are set to outperform the competition, making it a good bet for investors, according to the ‘Wealth report 2018’ by Knight Frank.

“From the early 2000s, growth was rapid in Karen, with many of the original five- and ten-acre plots developing into modern housing clusters with shared amenities such as club houses, gyms and swimming pools,” said Ben Woodhams, the boss at Knight Frank Kenya.

“This period saw land prices soar from Sh2.3 million per acre to their current levels of over Sh50 million per acre, where they have now stabilized.”

The report notes that the market for town-houses in Karen is now saturated, which has resulted in a plateauing of prices at around Sh80 million to Sh110 million per unit, although record prices have been achieved for bigger stand-alone homes with extensive gardens.

READ: Eldoret land prices soar 900 per cent amid tight supply

Although Karen remains Nairobi’s most affordable high end suburb, according to Cytonn Investments, it is interesting to note that land prices in the estate have more than doubled since 2011 when an acre of land in the area was selling for an average of Sh25 million.

Cytonn recently sold out its gated community in Karen, Amara Ridge, where each of the ten units was sold for between Sh90 million and Sh112 million depending on whether a buyer purchased early in the project or towards its completion.

The five-acre development, which sits opposite Bomas of Kenya, features two architectural styles – a classical and a contemporary design to cater for diverse tastes.

“There is still room for these kinds of developments, for people who don’t want a lot of houses together and we are looking into doing more,” Cytonn chief investment officer Elizabeth Nkukuu said in December during the handing over of the houses to their owners.

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