December | 2012 | a4architect

KENYA REAL ESTATE 2012. FUTURE OF 2013.

LAND.
The year 2012 has seen unprecedented high land values around Nairobi. Land in upper hill shot up from
KES 200m per acre to the current KES 350m , representing 75% increase in land value.
Land in Nairobi Suburbs such as Syokimau 1 KM from Mombasa road shot up from KES 1.5m per 1/8th acre to KES 2.2 m for the same, representing 46% increase in value.
This increase in value has had an advantage to the minority land owners and a disadvantage to the majority land buyers who have had to cough up much more.
The main reason for the increase in land value is due to normal increase in population while available land for sale remaining constant and influx of cash from overseas into the Kenyan economy.
This high cost of land has resulted to high cost of houses even though the construction materials prices have not risen much in the last 5 years.

BUILDING MATERIALS.

New cost effective building materials have been introduced to the Kenyan market.

Mazeras stone tiles.
Even though Mazeras stone has been in Kenya still time immemorial, it was only used in the Coast and a few high end shopping malls such as the Village Market.
With its cutting into square and rectangular pieces, it has become a popular wall and floor finish due to its relative affordability, high aesthetics ,high strength and low maintenance cost.

Aluminum Window and Door frames.
With the onset of Chinese Aluminum shops setting business in Nairobi, Aluminum windows and doors have now been introduced to the mass market due to their affordability and high aesthetics.
Previously, Aluminum windows and sliding doors were the preserve of very high cost buildings. Currently, most flea markets and shop partitions are done using Aluminum sections. We are now witnessing Aluminum partitions in residential units especially the Master bedroom bathroom partitions.

MDF and HDF Boards.
MDF Boards have started to edge out block boards as the main wardrobe ,kitchen cabinet and furniture materials. HDF Floor boards have also become common place in the floor finishes sector.

LOWS OF 2012.

2012 has witnessed a collapse of Buildings such as the Westlands and Mlolongo buildings .
The Government through Ministry of Local Government which is responsible for ensuring building safety have improved the level of inspections since its quite a long time since we have heard of a building collapsing of late.

FUTURE OF 2013.

Land Laws.
The new Land Laws whereby the Land Commission will regulate size of individual land ownership and propose land tax will be a game changer in 2013. Solutions such as Idle land taxation if implemented will result in large land owners selling their land hence reduction of land prices due to oversupply. Idle land taxation will also increase revenue to Government hence more infrastructure such as roads and water supply improvement.

New Building Materials.
Prefabrication and new building materials into the market will change the look of new buildings. Panelized housing such as the ones being produced by NHC will redefine how the shape of new buildings will look.
Flexible curveable building materials such as uPVC ceiling, Onduline roofing sheets and profiled steel sheets will redefine the shape of the house as we know it. There will be more and more curvilinear house styles as house owners seek to quench their thirst for unique housing.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau. Architect.
http://www.a4architect.com.
info@a4architect.com

MYTHS IN BUYING AND SELLING PROPERTY IN KENYA.

Myth No. 1.

Assumption that large Property Agents always have the latest portfolio of new property.

Large property Selling firms always have any new properties emerging for sale into the market.
Some people believe that large Property Agency firms have a portfolio of any new property in the market. This may result in people giving up if the large Property firms tell them that their desired property is not available in the market.

The best source of information for new property up for sale is in small time Agents and individual brokers. These usually get the information faster than the Larger Property firms. For instance, an individual or corporate body could be looking to buy an acre of land in Upper Hill . Their first point of reference will be in the 5 largest property Agencies. The highest chance is that these agencies will not have such land for sale. The individual or corporate will then believe that such a property is not available. If they were to also contact small agencies for the same, they would be surprised at the number of acres available for sale in the same region.

Myth No. 2.

Assumption that the Local Authority has approved the property construction.

People assume that once they buy a building after following due diligence, there can be no other risks pertaining to the property. There is a possibility of buying a building that has been condemned by the Local Authority for various reasons. Maybe the owner did not seek the Local Authority approvals while constructing . In such a scenario, maybe he or she constructed without adhering to Bye laws such as observation of building line setback or ground coverage. Such situations are remedied by demolition. The new owner will be surprised when the Local Authority come calling asking him or her to demolish.

Myth No. 3.

Assumption that property is always structurally sound.

People assume that once they buy a building, structural defects can not affect them.
Its quite common these days to meet people who bought houses then the walls and floors begin to crack soon after occupation. This results in complex legal arguments as to who is responsible. With the onset of the new Construction laws in Kenya, Building contractors for private houses will now be required to be registered by the Government hence ease of regulating them. Before this law, only Contractors doing Government works were required to be registered. This will assist the property owners to trace the contractors when such defects occur. The Best Practice internationally is that the contractor gives a 6 months warranty period for patent defects such as leaking roofs, blocked pipes, broken door frames and handles e.t.c. For Latent defects such as structural cracks, falling walls and roofs, sinking foundations e.t.c, the Best Practice is a 6 year liability period. Now with the current laws, it will be easier for property owners to have a recourse once such defects happen.

Myth No. 4.

Assumption that buildings last forever.

Buildings have a lifespan, usually 50 years depending on the type of materials used to construct.
Some people have bought buildings without carefully analyzing the materials. It’s possible to buy a building then discover that the walls are made of soil blocks hence a very short lifespan. It’s also possible to buy a building then discover that the roof trusses have all been eaten up by ants hence a very short roof lifespan. When buying a property, careful analysis as to the costs of renovation is important to avoid situations where you buy the property at a premium only for you to redo the whole complete house all over again.

Francis Gichuhi Kamau. Architect.
0721410684
info@a4architect.com