Kenya house prices rise 2.2% as standalone homes outpace apartments, KNBS says

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Residential property prices in Kenya rose 2.2% in the year to June 2026, with standalone houses doing most of the lifting while apartment prices barely moved, according to the latest Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

The overall index stood at 120.29 in the second quarter of 2026, up from 117.73 in the same quarter of 2025. Prices also picked up within the year, with the index rising 1.6% between the first and second quarters of 2026. The release is dated September 30, 2026.

Standalone houses lead the gains

Standalone houses, a category that covers maisonettes, bungalows, townhouses and villas, recorded the strongest annual increase. Their index climbed 3.1% to 134.47 from 130.49 a year earlier. KNBS linked the rise to continued demand for detached homes, whose prices went up 0.7% between March and June.

Apartments, which include flats and duplexes, told a different story. Their prices rose just 0.1% over the year, although they gained 3.6% between the first and second quarters of 2026, suggesting some recovery after a weak stretch.

Where prices rose and where they eased

The index splits the market into strata, and the picture varies sharply by location.

• Nairobi Upper apartments rose to an index of 96.9 from 92.5 a year earlier.
• Nairobi Other apartments climbed to 119.4 from 109.0, one of the bigger jumps in the flat market.
• Nairobi Middle apartments eased to 86.4 from 87.4.
• Apartments in Other Regions outside Nairobi fell to 111.6 from 121.4, the steepest drop in the release.
• Nairobi Upper standalone houses rose to 136.0 from 130.2.
• Nairobi Other standalone houses jumped to 164.9 from 145.2, the highest reading of any stratum.

Standalone house prices in the Nairobi Middle and Other Regions strata eased over the same period, KNBS said.

Several of the Nairobi apartment readings remain below 100, which means prices in those segments are still lower than they were in 2022, the index’s base year. Standalone houses, by contrast, sit well above their 2022 levels in most of the city.

How the index works

The RPPI tracks pure price change by controlling for differences in property features, so a quarter with more large homes on the market does not show up as a price rise on its own. KNBS uses a rolling window time dummy hedonic method, a statistical model that prices a home by its characteristics and strips those out to isolate the market movement.

The data comes from quarterly surveys of real estate agents and developers and from property adverts. That means the index is built on asking prices, not completed sales, so actual deal prices can be lower, especially in segments where buyers have room to negotiate.

What it means for buyers and sellers

For buyers, the soft apartment numbers, particularly outside Nairobi and in the city’s middle-income areas, point to a market where there is room to bargain. Sellers of standalone homes in Nairobi’s upper-end and outer neighbourhoods have more pricing power.

The figures land as the government pushes ahead with its affordable housing programme, which is adding thousands of units to the market. Recent handovers include the Pioneer affordable homes in Eldoret, with units from KSh640,000, a supply push that could weigh on apartment prices in some towns over time.

Anyone planning a purchase should also budget for transaction costs on top of the price. Our guide to stamp duty rates in Kenya and how to pay explains the charge on property transfers, and owners looking to borrow against land can compare title deed loan providers in Kenya.