Runda is falling behind Ruaka town’s rising land prices, Karen

Due to a rise in demand from real estate investors who are developing apartments, the price of land in Ruaka has surged ahead of those in Nairobi’s affluent neighbourhoods like Runda, Karen, and Kitisuru.

The price of an acre of land in Ruaka, Kiambu, is about to surpass Sh100 million, highlighting the rapid rise in plot prices in the towns surrounding the capital.

The average price of an acre in Ruaka in March was Sh98.3 million, according to HassConsult, which compiles quarterly property prices. This is higher than the Sh94.9 million average cost in Kitisuru, Sh88.5 million average cost in Runda, and Sh65.3 million average cost in Karen.

The Nairobi satellite town of Ruaka, according to analysts, is more popular with real estate investors than Runda and Kitisuru, which prefer stand-alone homes on preferably half-acre plots and require separate building permits.

A throwback to the days when the real estate craze saw coffee plantations in the Nairobi suburbs uprooted to make way for gated housing estates and shopping malls, the growth in the cost of plots in the satellite towns has been faster than in the capital.

The value of land in the town that was previously used for coffee plantations has increased as a result of Ruaka’s proximity to the Two Rivers shopping center.