Kenyan homes are delivering investment returns unequaled globally.

This is according to a Special Report launched on Tuesday 9th September, 2025 by HassConsult, which found the country has further widened its lead in 2025 compared with nine leading property markets globally.

The study of property prices and rental yields – in Kenya, South Africa, the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Switzerland, Singapore and Australia – found a sharply different growth trajectory for Kenya driven by the strength of its domestic demand.

Since the year 2000, residential property prices have risen by 201 per cent in the USA, compared with 151 per cent in France, and 122 per cent in Singapore. But, in Kenya, they have risen by 425 per cent.

In 2025, with many global property markets now depressed by high interest rates in heavily debt-leveraged sectors, Kenya has widened this gap further – with its 7.8 per cent increase in property prices in the year to June 2025 representing the highest level of capital appreciation in any of the markets analysed.

Australia reported the second highest growth, at 4.74 per cent.

Kenya’s growth in the real estate purchase is also linked to offplan development, where buyers get property while it is still under construction, making use of discounts and also installment payments, this has been an advantage to most of them as they have escaped debts and loans.

“A critical factor in the strength of Kenya’s housing market has been its source of finance,” HassConsult Co-CEO, Sakina Hassanali stated.

She noted that, homes in Kenya are fully paid, which makes the market super-resilient as owners rarely end up grappling with mortgage repayments they can’t meet, preventing the waves of forced sales suffered in other economies.

Less than 2 per cent of homes in Kenya are mortgage-financed, compared with up to 90 per cent in the international markets analysed.

At the same time, the country’s growth in high earners, notably in education, health, trade, and agriculture, as well as mortgage-financed banking staff, has seen housing demand outstrip GDP growth in the country.

“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,” Sakina added.

While the number of International NGOs departing from the country and the cuts in aid programmes has left vacant houses causing detached houses prices to increase, offplan has been the gamechanger in Kenya-where professionals in all sectors are allowed to use their salary traction to gain a foothold into high-return investments; that deliver passive income even if they have not fully paid for the property.

“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,” HassConsult Sales Advisor, Ian Mutinda revealed.