Thriving trade, tourism triggers property boom
Former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi hands a flag to his successor Joshua Irungu soon after a swearing-in ceremony at Nanyuki Municipal Stadium on August 25, 2022. A real estate boom is in the offing in Laikipia County, which is capitalising on its legendary status as a global tourism destination to attract investors seeking to satisfy increasing housing demand for a rapidly growing population.
A real estate boom is in the offing in Laikipia County, which is capitalising on its legendary status as a global tourism destination to attract investors seeking to satisfy increasing housing demand for a rapidly growing population.
Infrastructure upgrades have also led to a flurry of property sales. Land companies have pitched camp in the town located on the slopes of Mt Kenya.
Unison Sacco is the latest entrant to the real estate frenzy. Unison, formerly Laikipia Teachers Sacco, has helped 12,000 of its members to acquire 50 feet by 100 feet plots at Sh350,000 apiece.
In 2021, Unison launched the Nuru Land Investment Project for its members in Nanyuki. The 5,400 plots lie on 960 acres.
The county government, through Nanyuki Water and Sewerage Company, will supply water and sewer lines once the balloting process is complete.
“We are not a land-buying company. Members contribute money to acquire property. Our interest is to ensure that our members own land by issuing to them loans of Sh350,000 each. We give them a payment duration of four years and ensure that their financial position is stable,” Unison CEO John Njogu told Nation.
The membership’s increase from 41,503 to 49,712 this year prompted the management to plan on how to venture into affordable housing projects.
Locals are venturing into the homestay business by converting their properties to offer hospitality services. One of them is Ms Linet Ndung’u, founder of Nimmoh’s Homestays. She told Nation her company has majored in furnished apartments and villas.
Increasing land prices
With the Laikipia County Government expected to relocate its headquarters from Nanyuki in Laikipia East to Rumuruti in Laikipia West, Fadhili Development Properties Director Abel Kemboi said prices of land in Rumuruti have been increasing sharply.
“Ten years ago, a 50 feet by 100 feet plot was going for Sh500,000 but the same size currently costs Sh11 million. This price is expected to rise to go by market dynamics,” said Mr Kemboi.
In May last year, former Governor Ndiritu Muriithi unveiled a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) laboratory.
Mr Muriithi said the GIS laboratory would help in streamlining land transactions and give citizens assurance of the authenticity of land leases. The laboratory, located at the Department of Infrastructure in Nanyuki, has over 5,000 digitised registry index maps obtained from the Survey of Kenya. The equipment also contains 1,600 digitised Part Development Plans (PDPs).
“A large number of PDPs that are in circulation in Laikipia are not properly approved. This creates doubt as to the legality of land leases that were processed pursuant to those PDPs,” Mr Muriithi said at the time.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has been conducting a wide-ranging probe into land fraud which involves forging PDPs and generating back-dated allotment letters.
The rehabilitated 240-kilometre Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line has unlocked the Central region’s economic potential. It cost taxpayers Sh3 billion to revive the railway line in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s final term.
