Kenya property market outshines global giants
Executives from HassConsult during the release of the Hass Property Index Report in Nairobi on September 9, 2025. From left: Andrey Lyubinov (Regional Director, Russia House Kenya), Sakina Hassanali (Co-CEO, HassConsult), Ian Mutinda (Development Sales Advisor, HassConsult), and Minah Mwendwa (Head of Research and Marketing, HassConsult). Photo/Sande Onyango
Kenya is offering some of the highest rental yields in the world, with apartments and semi-detached houses recording returns of more than 7pc in the first half of 2025, a new HassConsult report shows.
According to the Hass Index, rental yields in Kenya average 5.5pc despite steady growth in house prices.
This places the country above developed economies such as Switzerland and Singapore, where yields are below 5pc.
HassConsult Co-Chief Executive Officer Sakina Hassanali said Kenya’s housing market has been sustained by its unique structure of financing.
“A critical factor in the strength of Kenya’s housing market has been its source of finance. Homes in Kenya are fully paid, which makes the market super-resilient. Owners rarely end up grappling with mortgage repayments they cannot meet, preventing the waves of forced sales suffered in other economies,” Ms Hassanali said during the release of the report on Tuesday.
The report reviewed nine(9) global markets, including the the US, the UK, France, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada, Australia, and South Africa.
It found that property prices in Kenya rose by 7.8pc in the year to June 2025--the highest worldwide.
Australia came second with a 4.74pc increase.
Ms Hassanali noted that fewer than 2 per cent of homes in Kenya are mortgage-financed, compared with up to 90 per cent in Singapore and the USA. She said this shields Kenya’s housing sector from interest rate shocks that have slowed demand elsewhere.
“Multiple factors are driving down property demand in western and eastern economies, not least of which is declining populations, while the value of property in Kenya’s expanding economy and population only keeps growing,” she said.
The report also shows that rental yields are strongest in offplan developments.
HassConsult Development Sales Advisor Mr Ian Mutinda said offplan investments delivered annual returns of 18.06 per cent in 2025, supported by discounts, instalment payments, and rapid capital gains.
“With offplan now the main point of entry for many Kenyans into property, the discounts and instalment payments are creating gains that are, in reality, over twice the norm in other global markets,” he said.
The study further notes that Kenya’s property market has outperformed global peers over the long term.
Since 2000, residential property prices have increased by 425 per cent. In comparison, prices rose by 201 per cent in the USA, 151 per cent in France, and 122 per cent in Singapore.
Analysts say the growth of high earners in Kenya’s education, health, trade, agriculture and banking sectors continues to fuel demand for housing, even as international markets record downturns.