The number of projects approved for construction in Nairobi registered a 71 per cent increment with Sh. 60.1 billion worth of projects approved for the first quarter of this year compared to Sh. 35 billion between August and December 2017, marking a return to normal market conditions.
However, a comparison with the same period last year shows that the value of buildings approved in the first three months of this year decreased marginally by Sh. 1.6 billion or 2.6 per cent when compared to the first quarter of 2017 which recorded a total value of Sh. 61.7 billion.
According to the latest leading economic indicators report by KNBS, the first three months of the year saw investors seeking approval to put up Sh. 36.85 billion worth of residential concrete compared to Sh. 23.55 billion four months to December in 2017.
Apart from the money seeking residential development, KNBS also noted that approvals for non-residential development 11.56 per cent to Sh. 23.23 billion from last year’s Sh. 11.66 billion. In the survey which compares the value of approved building plans for last year and the first three months of this year, November recorded the lowest total value of approved building in 2017 at Sh. 16.4 billion.
The three months from August to October, 2017 had no project approvals as political temperatures brought business to a standstill.
Between January and March, the value of registered projects increased by Sh. 3.24 billion over last year’s value. Nairobi, already a popular destination for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), has been attracting local and global capital into real estate for a long time.
Although Nairobi’s high-end market segment has been the subject of much of the capital available for real estate in the city, the low-end markets are set to enjoy a major boom beginning next month, which is expected to spread to the rest of the country under the government’s Big Four Agenda.
