The super wealthy have a new acquired taste and it is in the environs of Kenya. A stream of deep-pocketed fellows is investing in second homes in Kenya.
It is estimated that Kenya is already on the radar of 4% of the global rich and 24% of Africa’s super-rich. In addition, the rest of the multi rich have an eye on East Africa as a whole according to Knight Frank, a real estate consultant.
Kenya has been branding itself as a high-end financial region that has seen local and international investors vest heavily in office spaces, homes especially in Nairobi, Mount Kenya region as well as the coastal areas. Come, 2019, it is cited that Nairobi will be home to the tallest building in Africa: ‘The Pinnacle’ with companies such as The Hilton already set to open in this building.
This Key interest from oversea investors follows the steady growth of the real estate sector for the past ten or so years. However, Nairobi still remains one of the most expensive cities in Africa with a very small population having mortgages and a majority of people living in slums
Ben Woodhams, Knight Frank’s managing director in Kenya, however, said the Kenyan real estate market will continue to pull in high-income potential home buyers. “On the coast and in the bush, buyers will be drawn by their hearts as much as their heads,” he said.
“Anyone who has been to Nairobi has seen all the new constructions so what we are seeing are that most of the wealth created in Kenya at the moment is from construction and real estate sector, Kenya’s diversified economy means it is consistently one of Africa’s top performers in terms of wealth creation. According to our latest data, this trend looks set to continue over the next decade,” said Andrew Shirley, the Wealth Report editor.
The World Bank predicts that the economy will grow up to 5.8% in 2018 and 6.1% in 2019, boosted by strong remittance inflows, the tourism sector, and the steady growth of technology.
