Landlords retain rental fees amid tough economic times
By Victor Mukabi, July 28, 2025As Kenyans continue to grapple with the mounting economic pressures characterised by the shrinking disposable income, landlords in the country have delayed raising rental fees due to the need to retain occupancy levels, even as land prices recorded marginal growth in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
According to the Q2 property index by Hassconsult, a real estate and property consultancy firm, prices during the period fell by a marginal 0.2 per cent compared to an increase of 0.3 per cent in quarter one.
This factor, as per Sakina Hassanali, Co-CEO & Creative Director at HassConsult highlighting view highlights the price-sensitive nature of letting in a tough economic climate characterised by job losses and stagnant pay.
“Landlords are therefore increasingly forced to forego an increase in rent prices in order to protect occupancy in a price-sensitive market,” she said.
Rentals rates for both detached houses and semi-detached houses fell by a marginal 1.6 and 0.4 per cent respectively compared to the previous quarter and 0.2 and 5.4 per cent respectively on an annual basis.
Apartments rental index, on the other hand, recorded an increase of 2.4 per cent from the previous quarter and 3.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
During the period under review, Nairobi Suburbs that had the highest quarterly increase in rental prices are Lang’ata, which had a 3.4 per cent increase, Gigiri, which had a 3.0 per cent rise and Ridgeways, which had a 3.3 per cent increase.
Muthaiga, Kilimani and Westlands saw their rental prices marginally drop by 2.7, 1.2 and 1.7 per cent, respectively.
For apartments, Lang’ata had the highest rates, increasing by 3.7 per cent, while Upperhill had the highest decline of 4.6 per cent.
Notably, the average rental price for a property has gone from Ksh38,516 in December 2000 to Ksh167,825 in June 2025, as the average rent for a 4 to 6-bedroom property currently stands at Ksh240,602.
The average rent for a 1–3-bedroom property is currently Ksh93,230 according to the property index.
Property prices
At the same time, the report highlighted that property prices rose by 3.75 per cent in the quarter ending June, compared to a growth of 2.45 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
Detached housing segment, which is made up of townhouses and villas, was the most vibrant in price growth at 5 per cent, outpacing semi-detached units and apartments, which grew at 1.3 and 1.1 per cent respectively in the quarter.
“Detached house prices grew at their fastest quarterly pace in nine years, which also reflected in suburbs such as Muthaiga, Karen and Runda—that are largely exclusive of apartments— reporting faster property price growth, “she added.
This, according to her, has been fuelled by a general lack of supply of detached houses.
She noted that as an investment option, the improved annual price growth of 7.8 per cent for all property and 10.9 per cent for detached houses improved the competitiveness of property against other asset classes such as government Treasury bills, whose interest rates have now fallen to the 8.1 to 9.7 per cent level from 16 per cent a year ago.
Meanwhile, land prices indices during the quarter recorded slower growth of 1.6 per cent compared to the previous quarter, which had 1.7 per cent growth, while the satellite towns saw their prices marginally appreciate.
The report establishes that all 18 suburbs surveyed in Nairobi returned positive price movement in the quarter.
However, Spring Valley and Parklands were the only two suburbs with a price gain of more than 2 per cent.