- Nairobi City County boasts the largest commercial real estate investment as of 2023.
- Other counties with growing real estate industries include Kiambu, Mombasa, and Kajiado.
- The report about real estate in Kenya is the courtesy of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Real estate is the fastest-growing industry in Kenya due to the need to meet the rising demand vis-à-vis the growing population and businesses in Kenya. Commercial real estate investment would be the best option to pump your money into, given that Kenya is among the top business destinations in Africa.
The Real Estate Survey Report conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics between 2023 and 2024 shows the increasing demand for commercial properties such as office buildings, retail spaces, industrial and warehousing, hotels and hospitality properties, and healthcare facilities.
The survey report shows that office buildings and spaces were the most sold out/offered commercial properties in 2023 at 61.6%, followed by industrial and warehousing properties at 22.1%. Similarly, healthcare facilities/medical or dental office suites were the least type of commercial properties offered or sold out in 2023.
Commercial properties for retail purposes posted an 11.4% on offer or sold out to buyers, while the demand for hotels and hospitality properties accounted for 1.8% of the total offers for sale or sold out in 2023. Malls/mix use and special purpose, both representing 1.4% and 1.1% in sold-out/offer for sale, were among the least in-demand types of commercial properties.
Distribution of Commercial Properties by Type on Offer/Sold Out by Type, 2023
According to the survey findings, 76.4 of all the advertised commercial properties were sold out. The advertised properties for retail purposes, special purposes, and healthcare facilities that were on offer in 2023 were sold out.
Malls/mixed use and office buildings and industrial/warehousing advertised during the period had more than half of them sold at 50.0%, 63.9%, and 89.3%, showing a growing demand for such commercial properties. However, only 40% of the advertised properties meant for hotels and hospitality were sold in 2023, indicating a slightly lower demand for this type of property.
Of all the advertised commercial properties, office buildings were the most expensive, with a median advertised sale price of 110,000,000 per unit/property, or Kshs 11,000 per square foot. The cost for purchasing a property for special purposes was, however, the highest at Kshs 260,000,000 per unit/property, or a media sale price of Kshs 8750 per square feet.
| Type of Commercial Property | Median advertised sale Price (Ksh) (Per unit/property) | Median advertised sale (price per square feet.) |
| Office Building | 110,000,000 | 11,000 |
| Healthcare/medical facilities | 25,000,000 | … |
| Industrial/Warehousing | 70,000,000 | 4,500 |
| Hotels and Hospitality | 180,000,000 | … |
| Malls/Mixed Use | 140,000,000 | … |
| Special Purpose | 260,000,000 | 8,750 |
| Retail Purposes | 60,000,000 | … |
Proportion of Advertised Commercial Properties that Were Sold in 2023
Nairobi City, Kiambu, Mombasa, Machakos, Kilifi, Kajiado, and Kisumu are among the top places for commercial real estate investment.
Nairobi City County had the highest number of commercial properties on offer for sale/sold out in 2023 at 74.1%, followed by Kiambu at 7.2%. 6.2% of commercial properties advertised in Kiambu and 6.5% in Mombasa were either on offer or sold out in 2023.
