As lifestyles evolve, small towns line up for the spoils

The need for privacy and exclusivity is driving young professionals to seek residence in estates outside major urban areas, also known as satellite towns.

The demographic that was initially attracted to things like quick access to entertainment joints now prefers out-of-town residences that hide them from the hustle and bustle of city life, places where they can have an afternoon nyama choma gig without attracting the attention of the local residents’ association chairman.

This, coupled with the improved road network that has created easier accesses to workplaces, means satellite settlements are now quite an attractive proposition for the modern buyer or builder who wants a piece of city life and a slice of rural life on one plate.

In Nairobi, for instance, areas that were previously dominated by bushes and shrubs are now being cleared for construction of houses, shopping malls and all that comes with “gated communities”.

CHEAPER RENT

That is why Syokimau, Katani, Lukenya and even Athi River have been transformed, almost overnight, into property hotspots where the city’s growing middle class is emigrating.

The Syokimau-Katani-Lukenya area is special in a way: first, it is serviced well by the Eastern and Northern bypasses; second, it is going to reap big from the expansion of Airport North Road and the airport itself; third, it boasts a not-so-bad infrastructural network; and, fourth, it sits next to the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, one of the country’s main transport arteries.

Similarly, such areas as Rongai, Kitengela and Ruai have now become the city’s new and expanding dormitories as people relocate here in search of cheaper rent, cheaper land, or bigger houses that go for what a bed-sitter costs near the city centre.

Brian Mureithi, a public relations consultant, says he chose to stay in Limuru, a small town about 35 kilometres west of Nairobi, even though he works in the city centre because of one thing: Limuru provides him with better yet more affordable accommodation.

“Nairobi is just too much of a hustle,” says Mureithi. “Unless you can afford to live in the leafy suburbs, it does not make any sense to be cramped inside a small servant’s quarter near the city when you can have a two- or three-bedroom house for the same amount.

BUY A HOUSE

“The security here is also much better than closer to the city, and because I have a huge compound, I am keeping poultry as a side hustle, which I can’t do in the city.”

It is not, however, just about the space and the chicken. As these satellite towns grow, they are attracting major infrastructural investments, which are in turn attracting commercial developers seeking cheaper land.

Cheaper land means cheaper housing, which is why today it is much more affordable to buy a house with the same, if not better, amenities in, say, Athi River than in Lang’ata.

Jacky Kendi, and auditor who works in Westlands, Nairobi, chose to move to Ruaka instead on staying near her workplace. Of course she has to struggle with the daily commute to work, but she thinks the price is worth the stay.

“It might be farther away from the city centre,” she explains, “but I still get there in comfortable enough time.

Ruaka, though still growing as more and more developers build here, is not as congested as some Nairobi estates are, and I think I would actually move farther if I feel my space has been invaded.”

Her sentiments are echoed by Lydia Limbe, a writer based in the city who says that Ruaka’s allure of a relaxed, rural setting was so attractive to her that she could not resist moving there.

HAS HER WORRIED

“I have had the experience of living in Kilimani and Kileleshwa but they all got crowded,” says Limbe.

Ruaka, however, is on every developer’s radar, and that has her worried. Should the worst happen and the place goes to the dogs, she would move farther away as, if it were up to her, she would “live on a farm”.

Outside Nairobi, the same is happening. In Kisumu, for instance, Maseno, Ahero and even Kakamega are the new property hostpots.

Peter Kimani says it is all about the quality of life, the breath of fresh Maseno air every morning he wakes up, and the fact that he can enjoy the same facilities that residences nearer Kisumu town would offer him.

“I love the village life here. It frees your mind from the hustles and bustles of the city.

“When I’m here I feel truly at home,” he says, adding that instead of renting a three-bedroom house for Sh30,000 near Kisumu’s CBD, he decided to look for a house that offered him the same comforts about 25 kilometres away.

In Mombasa, the gospel is now no longer about Kizingo and Ganjoni and Nyali and Tudor as developers seek better yields outside the traditional crowd pullers.

As a result, Mtwapa, Kikambala, Mazeras and — of late — Kaloleni have started attracting the attention of real estate investors and individual builders.

Charles Abwao, for instance, says he opted to move 16 kilometres away to Mtwapa from Makande on the island because he “could not find peace” at home.

“Makande is a nice estate,” he says, “but it is too busy. The traffic was a mess and it was driving me crazy. I decided to move out and see what areas outside Mombasa town had to offer. And I’m not complaining!”

COOL ENOUGH

And so the quiet exodus is happening. As people establish their careers and start their families, they are starting to look for more comfortable, peaceful areas to live in.

These areas may not have the infrastructural developments that CBDs and their adjoining estates boast, but they still are cool enough, quiet enough, conducive enough and cheaper enough to attract people in their droves.

Consequently, these are the new growth areas, as Nathan Luesby, the managing director of Jenga Web, says in an interview published by constructionkenya.com.

Land in some areas of Nairobi, for instance, appreaciated in value by more than 1,ooo per cent in the past five years, say Luesby, and that cannot be a good piece of information for the developers who wants to put up for-sale units.

“If you are not careful, you end up getting priced out of the market,” he adds.

Some analysts have forecasted a reduction in the number of new construction projects in Nairobi owing to the exhaustion of land in city suburbs like South B, South C and Lang’ata.

“The result is that now most projects are coming up in satellite towns where land is cheaper,” Alex Mungai, a Nairobi-based property consultant, is quoted as saying by constructionkenya.com.

“For example, the selling price for an acre of land in an estate like Kilimani is as much as Sh300 million, an amount that is way out of reach for many Kenyans,” he says.