aminiusiamini
Enjoy:
The Wealth Report 2014 by Knight Frank and
Citi Private Bank, a subsidiary of Citigroup,
showed that property prices in Nairobi and the
coastal region increased by double-digits,
earning the two them first and second
positions respectively of 71 cities surveyed
globally.
Nairobi and Mombasa were the only cities in
the southern hemisphere to have reported
double digit property price increases.
The startling performance at the top-end of
Kenyas housing market is particularly
interesting. Price growth in both the Kenyan
capital Nairobi and the countrys Indian Ocean
coastal hot spots outstripped all other Prime
International Residential Index locations, with
Nairobi property chalking up a 25 per cent
increase last year, said the report.
The coastal region was second with a 20 per
cent increase in luxury property prices over
the same period.
Miami was third at 19.1 per cent, Bali (15 per
cent), Jakarta (14.3 per cent), London (12.1
per cent), Vancouver (10.4 per cent), Moscow
(9.8 per cent), Toronto (8.5 per cent) and
Beijing (8.1 per cent).
The two Kenyan cities were placed in the safe
haven category of the report, which indicates
the best places for investors to put their
money.
Safe haven isnt necessarily a phrase many
people would use to describe the country in a
global context, but compared with many of its
neighbours it is just that, according to Ben
Woodhams, managing director of Knight Frank
Kenya, says the wealth report.
Mr Woodhams attributes the surge in luxury
property prices to increased demand being
driven by infrastructure development and
economic growth, which have attracted local
and international capital flows.
Inflows from Kenyans in the diaspora are
particularly significant in driving the prices,
the report notes.
Despite the increase in the cost of luxury
property, the report said that buying a square
metre of land in Nairobi and Mombasa is still
cheaper than other cities such as Monaco.
Of the 71 cities included in the report, with
respect to property prices, a square metre in
Nairobi costs $1,700 or Sh141,000, barely
three per cent the $58,300 or Sh4.8 million a
buyer would have to pay in Monaco.
The report, however, says Mombasa and
Nairobi are not likely to record appreciation of
property prices in the long-term due to
security concerns and uncertainty over lending
rates.
Recent events such as the kidnapping of
tourists staying in the North Coast and a
sharp rise in interest rates to almost 25 per
cent also highlight the potential vulnerability
of some emerging prime markets, says the
report.
The Central Bank of Kenya increased its base
lending rate to 18 per cent by end of last year
from six per cent, which nudged commercial
banks to follow suit with the average base
rate rising sharply to about 25 per cent.