•Buyers willing to be further from shops and services can buy beachfront properties for 22% of the typical cost.
•Nyali continue to command the highest home prices at the coast, at around Sh120 million for an unimproved, property
Buyers seeking beach properties at the Coast are now opting for cheaper options in the outskirts of major towns and developed areas, as they shun high-end locations.
Global real estate consultancy and estate agency– Knight Frank’s indicative data, on the prices of beachside residential homes along Kenya’s coast, has revealed a more than 400 per cent spread in Kenya’s high-end home prices from one location to another.
Unveiling the new data at a Coast market update reception for 120 Knight Frank clients in Mombasa, Sammy Mukala Head of Coast Region at Knight Frank Kenya, reported the prices for unimproved beachfront properties on 1-acre sites were based on recent market transactions, but did not represent fixed prices for properties in each location.
“The Coast remains a very stable market, with frequent opportunities for stunning properties and locations. Our sales data indicates that affordability increases, and buyers are increasingly willing to consider locations further from major towns, including fringe areas,” said Tarquin Gross, head residential agency, Knight Frank Kenya.
This trend often results in more favourable pricing compared to prime, central locations.
Based on recent transactions, beach front properties in Nyali continue to command the highest home prices at the coast, at around Sh120 million for an unimproved, property (property which no residential, commercial or other building has been built.)
This consequently places Nyali Beach homes in the same range as Nairobi, where the prices of prime unimproved properties typically range from Sh50 million to Sh200 million per acre.
Nevertheless, Nyali beach properties are commanding three times the price of comparable beachfront locations, exemplified by recent sales of unimproved one-acre beachfront estates in both Diani beach and Watamu, fetching approximately Sh40 million per property.
The data revealed that relatively small distances and travel time, combined with more limited local facilities and services, can make a difference of several million to the indicative pricing of beach-front properties.
At Kikambala beach, just over an hour north of Mombasa and Nyali beach, beach-front properties are selling for around Sh30 million per acre, as are similar properties at Kilifi Bofa beach, even further north.
Beach properties set on or just beyond larger urban fringes are also commanding relatively lower transaction prices, with beach properties at Galu Kinondo beach, just south of Ukunda and Diani beach, selling in 2024 for around Sh25 millionper acre.
“Mombasa contributes 4.9 per cent to Kenya’s GDP, versus Nairobi’s 27.5 per cent, but the desirability and strategic location of the Kenyan Coast makes it a property market that is as significant as the capital city,” Knight Frank Kenya CEO Mark Dunford noted.
“The values for its prime properties fully align with Nairobi valuations, and for those willing to move off the beaten track, there are some outstanding hidden gems along the coast.”