Kenya's coastal land market surges on lifestyle, remote work demand

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Kenyans seeking to acquire property in the affluent Coastal neighborhoods will now have to pay double the price they paid before Covid-19. This is after land prices in affluent towns like Diani and Watamu skyrocketed by 70 per cent since the world's worst pandemic in 2020.

A new report by Hass Consult on Coastal land price index cited natural beauty as the top driver of the price growth. By end of 2025, an acre of land in Watamu was valued at an average of Sh34.97 million, while Diani was averaged at Sh35.98 million.

The index covering 12 Coastal towns found that fastest price growth were in areas where beaches were widest and had natural beauty.

Sakina Hassanali, co-CEO and creative director at Hass Consult notes that Kenya’s Coastal land market is increasingly delinked from wider national economic trends, signaling the emergence of the region as a distinct lifestyle and investment asset class.

“Across remote working, retirement relocation and the long tail of international and domestic buyers who first discovered the Coast as tourists, the region has developed its own distinct land dynamics,” Hassanali said.

Unlike most inland real estate markets, coastal land prices are linked to drivers beyond Kenya’s immediate economic cycle, drawing in substantial external capital flows and driven by global lifestyle shifts, the urge for second-home ownership, retirement migration and remote working, all of which have accelerated since Covid-19.

According to the Index, the intensive development of Nyali has delivered the Coast’s highest average price per acre, at Sh114 million compared with Sh91.3 million in Mombasa City.

The area’s price growth has however slowed since 2020 as investor's interest moved to areas of outstanding natural beauty at lower premiums such as Diani and Watamu, but also include Lamu, where prices have risen by 59.1 per cent over the five years, and Bamburi, up 56.6 per cent.

Price growth seem to have averaged to 40 per cent for areas with narrower beaches, less accessibility, fewer lifestyle facilities, but still distinct beauty, since the end of 2020. Resorts expanded in and around Kilifi Town, Kikambala, and Mombasa City.

The report further shows that areas such as Vipingo and Malindi recorded the most subdued growth of just 25 per cent. This has been attributed to poorer aesthetics and facilities.

“The beauty premium is also the leading price factor within areas with beachfront properties in Nyali. A sea view is a priceable asset,” said Hassanali.

Some areas of Kilifi and Kwale are seeing land prices depressed due to land title deeds hold-ups, poor infrastructure and water shortages.

“Professionals moving to the Coast to work remotely, or relocating from all over the world to enjoy leisured retirements, simply don't want to buy whose land titles are uncertain or water precarious,” Hassanali.

In 2026, international and diaspora buyers, as well as Nairobi-based investors, are targeting coastal land as both a lifestyle and capital preservation asset, particularly in beachfront and creek-front locations where supply is inherently finite.

The Index reported that prices in Diani rose by 79.1 per cent from quarter 4 of 2020 to quarter 4 of 2025, to hit Sh35.98 million while Watamu prices jumped by 70 per cent to sell at Sh34.97 million per acre.

This makes Diani the current leading market for growth, as the strongest-performing premium node, followed closely by Watamu, while Bamburi whose average price of land per acre stands at Sh57.9 million and Lamu whose value is Sh81.6 million have shown substantial gains.

Mid-tier growth was also recorded in Kilifi, Kikambala, and Mombasa City, while more mature or infrastructure-constrained nodes such as Nyali, Vipingo, and Mtwapa recorded a steadier and more moderate increases.

The report shows that Lamu, a historic island town known for its rich-Swahili culture,  grew by 59.7 per cent in the last five years and the rising prices were driven upwards by LAPSSET- linked speculation.

“But the price remain highly illiquid and uneven due to the dominance of community and unclear land titles,” the index indicates.

Malindi land prices grew 22.9 per cent over five years to hit Sh18.99 million per acre, supported by long-standing international and diaspora demand, but growth has been held back by ageing infrastructure and uneven service provision. Watamu's seem to have been driven by the premium demand for wide, protected beaches and strong conservation zoning supported by high end buyers

Kilifi grew by 40.1 per cent over five years period to cost Sh26.17 million per acre. In parts of the larger Kilifi County, the average price of land per acre in Shanzu hit Sh68.7 million and Sh37.9 million in Mtwapa.

Nyali’s land has become the most valued on Kenya’s coast. According to the Price Index, an acre of land goes for Sh113.98 million, marking a 24 per cent growth as at 2025. The price growth is driven by its prime location and full urban services.

 Land prices in Mombasa averaged Sh91.3 million by end of 2025, marking a 38 per cent 5-year growth.

 “Mombasa’s land prices are supported by its role as the coastal economic hub, delivering slightly pivoted dynamics than coastal land prices. Its price growth is also affected by congestion, infrastructure pressure, and limited expansion space,” Hass Coastal Index.