International real estate research firm JLL, has ranked Nairobi as one of the most dynamic cities. The Kenyan capital was ranked 6th among the world’s 20 most dynamic cities in 2018, according to the sixth edition of JLL’s City Momentum Index (CMI).
The Index covers 131 major established and emerging markets and tracks a broad range of factors to identify cities that have the strongest short-term socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum, and those that have the future-proofing capacity for longer-term success.
Commercial real estate momentum takes into account factors like construction, absorption and price of real office, retail and hotels, including investment transactions and transparency. Social economic momentum incorporates the aspects of population, economic output, retail sales, foreign direct investment and corporate headquarters.
According to the index, Indian and Chinese cities dominated the rankings, accounting for three-quarters of the top 20 cities with two Indian cities (Bengaluru and Hyderabad) being at the top. In Africa, only one city made the rankings, backed by investment activity with a majority of Asia Pacific influence particularly from China.
The recent ranking combines with past rankings to cement Nairobi’s position as a global city. In July 2018, a McKinsey survey found that Nairobi was the second most responsive city to smart tech on the continent after Cape Town while another JLL study ranked it alongside Nigeria’s Lagos as the most improved cities in terms of market transparency.
While the city still has many areas to work on, the fundamentals are rightly in place to thrive as a global centre of commerce.
Read; Real estate market summary, 2018
