Ruiru, Thika and Ruaka showed the highest annual growth in land prices in Nairobi’s satellite towns in the third quarter of 2026, with Ruiru showing the highest growth at 11.5 percent. Land prices in Ruiru grew by 11.5 percent over the past 12 months to September 2026, Thika grew by 9.3 percent and Ruaka grew by 6.2 percent.

The three towns are some of the best performing in terms of land price growth in the areas surrounding Nairobi. However, this was against a backdrop of slowing land price growth in the overall satellite town market.

Across the 14 satellite towns, land prices grew by just 0.65 percent in the third quarter compared to 1.4 percent in the second quarter. The average price per acre was Ksh33.7 million.

Nine of the 14 towns showed positive growth. However, despite showing the highest annual growth, Ruiru did not show the highest land prices. Ruaka showed the highest average asking price at Ksh117.9 million per acre, followed by Ruiru at Ksh42.5 million and Thika at Ksh33 million.

Other towns showed significant differences. Kiambu showed land prices of Ksh48.1 million per acre, Mlolongo showed Ksh46.6 million and Ngong showed Ksh35.5 million. Kiserian showed the lowest average asking price of Ksh13.3 million per acre, followed by Kitengela at Ksh18.8 million and Athi River at Ksh20.9 million.

There is clearly a large spread of land prices in Nairobi’s satellite towns. However, several areas have shown positive annual growth. Several areas showed negative growth.

Athi River showed the highest negative growth of -2.3 percent, followed by Ngong at -1.9 percent and Kiambu at -1.2 percent. Mlolongo, Kiserian and Tigoni also showed negative growth. In terms of quarterly growth, Mlolongo showed the highest negative growth of -2.2 percent.

This shows there is quite a large variance in terms of investment and demand for land between areas. The latest index also shows there may be some concerns regarding the returns investors can expect when buying land. In 12 of the 14 satellite towns, land price growth was lower than returns from rolling 91-day treasury bills over the past two years. Only Ruiru and Juja showed greater returns.

HassConsult Co-CEO and Creative Director Sakina Hassanali said this could affect how investors view land.

“In the past satellite towns have been popular with investors looking to buy land for capital growth. As the returns from passive land investment are becoming less competitive, the economic rationale for buying land may be increasingly dependent on the purpose of buying land,” she said.

This suggests buyers may need to consider the purpose of the land and not just expected growth. Whilst Ruiru, Thika and Ruaka have shown positive annual growth, the slower growth in the quarterly period and variance between the towns show there is still some disparity in the overall market.

The index shows how asking prices have changed, however, it will not necessarily reflect the actual price paid for the land.