Nanyuki is now a luxury haven

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 - 00:00 -- BY KINGS WAWERU

A gated community development under construction

at Thingithu estate in Nanyuki

The Nanyuki Shopping Mall which houses several businesses

including Nakumatt and Sherlocks Bar.

Nanyuki, a town Northwest of Mt Kenya and the headquarters of Laikipia county, is fast emerging a favourite hotspot for luxury real estate, having attracted huge developments of late.

Many holiday home developments are sprouting by day, spurred by demand from expatriates, foreign buyers and wealthy Kenyans.

There are several private ranches and wildlife conservancies around Nanyuki, which are major tourist attractions. It also has six military barracks and a British Army Training Unit-Kenya base, which have boosted property transactions especially involving foreigners, owing to the perceived high security.

Christopher Maitho, a Nanyuki-based developer, said when BATUK moved to the town two years ago, it created demand for high-end rental houses for senior officers. This saw landlords letting houses at Sh20,000 per month raise to Sh30,000 for the same.

New developers flocking the area have seen land prices rise as much as ten-fold, with an eighth-acre selling at between Sh700,000 and Sh1.2 million, from Sh75,000-100,000 in 2005.

A plot in Nanyuki’s CBD that cost Sh3 million five years ago now goes for eye-watering Sh25-40 million. At Mountain View neighbourhood in the outskirts of the town, an eighth-acre cost Sh400,000 a few years back but the lowest one can buy at presently is Sh1 million.

A number of white settlers evicted from Zimbabwe have also been noted to buy properties in Nanyuki.

“Due to the high demand, farmers who owned small parcels of land had to amalgamate them and sell to the settlers at very exorbitant prices because they wanted large tracts of land. The buyers had to give huge offers for the locals to give into selling their parcels,” Maitho said.

Many luxury homes, high-end hotels and lodges have now been built in such areas, though other investors have opted to set up flower farms.

At Ol Pejeta, a renowned private wildlife conservancy, 100 holiday homes are under construction. Most houses at the development christened Mt Kenya Wildlife Estate have been sold at Sh33 million each.

Buyers are noted to be wealthy businessmen and top executives of blue chip firms in the country. The conservancy, 20 minutes drive on the Nanyuki-Rumuruti road, sits on 90,000 acres between the Aberdares ranges and Mt Kenya, of which 1,000 acres have been hived off for the holiday homes.

Another luxury development coming up is the Enaai Loldaiga, situated at the Jua Kali area on Nanyuki-Doldol road. When it was unveiled in August last year, the first 30 plots measuring eighth of an acre were sold at Sh1 million each, in a span of a month. They have appreciated in value to an asking price of Sh2.7 million. Half-acre plots were selling at Sh2.5 million in February and have appreciated to Sh3.5 million.

The first phase of the development sits on 800 acres, with construction set to begin early 2014 at an estimated cost of Sh4 billion.

Some of the facilities to be built include hotels, a 18-hole golf course, club house, sports filed and track, health centre and a school complex. Housing units will be three and four-bedroom.

Enaai will also have a commercial centre with a mall, banking facilities, and university campuses.

Other luxury developments in Nanyuki include Mukima Ridge and Mt   Kenya Holiday Homes.

Nanyuki’s proximity to Isiolo is also expected to spur further development triggered by the proposed resort city. Already many entrepreneurs make daily trips to Isiolo, which is less than 100 kilometres away.

According to a senior partner in Nanyuki-based Global Real Estate Development Company, many wealthy individuals have sold their properties in areas such as Naivasha and relocated to the town.

Nanyuki is also noted as a safe haven as it largely remained peaceful during the post-2007 elections violence.

Most of the private ranches have aircraft, while Tropic Air operates from State-owned Nanyuki Airfield. Air Kenya, SAX and Safari Link have daily flights to the town, boosting accessibility by air.