Migori, Homa Bay real estate sectors in massive growth after devolution

Property development in Migori and Homa Bay towns in western Kenya has been steadily on the rise.

Consequently, the price of land in prime areas in Migori Town, where developers are putting up rental property, has gone up considerably, as has house rent.

Migori Town is a thriving, cosmopolitan centre, with entrepreneurs keen to take advantage of its closeness to the border town of Isebania. Its quick commercial growth has also attracted several institutions of higher learning,  among them Kisii and Kenyatta

universities, which have set up satellite campuses to serve the town’s growing population.

Other institutions in the town that have seen an increase in student numbers are Migori Teachers’ College and the Kenya Medical Training College, Migori campus.

The resultant need for accommodation for the learners and tutors has partly led to the ongoing construction boom.

Mr Joshua Odero, the Director of Josire Misire Property Agencies, who manages several properties in Migori Town, says that the town’s cosmopolitan nature and strategic location make it an ideal place for investment. 

“Migori Town’s increased development is due to the favourable business environment and its close proximity to the border town of Isibania, which has made Tanzanian traders flock the town to sell their wares,” explains Mr Odero.

Traders in the town are upbeat that the ongoing property development will help woo investors to the town, whose development they attribute to the cheap prices of commodities in neighbouring Tanzania.

Also noteworthy is that devolution has seen Homa Bay Town register remarkable growth in property development, with land prices shooting up. Rents in the town’s estates, such as Got Rabuor, Makongeni, Sofia and Kaburini, where a self-contained house was going for Sh6,000  two years ago, have nearly doubled.

In Kaburini and Got Rabuor, which are considered the town’s prime areas, the price of an acre of land has shot up from Sh500, 000 to Sh800,000 in the last two years.

To improve the town’s layout and decongest it, the county land department is planning to relocate its dumpsite from Kaburini Estate. Also due for relocation is the Homa Bay Prison, which sits on a 20,000-acre parcel of land within the town.