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Maisha Developments has this week continued the counter-cyclical success of real estate projects within the Tilisi master-planned development in outer Nairobi, breaking ground on 259 apartments with over a fifth already sold, even as other Nairobi developers announce they are postponing new builds.
The two- and three-bedroom apartments will be completed within two years as phase one of apartment schemes Maisha Mapya and Maisha Makao that will offer nearly 600 apartments on completion.
“These two schemes offer a new level of value for first-time and more established buyers, with apartments that start at just Sh4.4m, but come with gardens, swimming pools, gyms, sports courts, club houses, convenience shops and private parking spaces. These kinds of features are never normally available in apartments in that price range,” said Mr Kavit Shah, CEO of Maisha Developments.
The apartments also offer a low-cost way into the Tilisi development itself, which is characterised by parks and green spaces, jogging and cycling circuits, as well as a school, shopping mall, and many acres of stand-alone villas, all set beside the junction of Waiyaki Way and the Southern ByPass.
“Covid has certainly hit buying power, but whenever real estate demand dips it is the least attractive property that ends up unsold in a thinner market. Exceptional offers, which, for instance, deliver larger and better-quality apartments or provide a serene and spacious setting with strong infrastructure, continue to attract buyers by presenting unusual buying opportunities,” said Mr Shah.
The current pandemic has also favoured outer Nairobi as more people have moved to working from home or working fewer days in offices, increasing the appeal of the lower costs and greater space beside the city’s ring roads.
The Maisha schemes are set over 10 acres within Tilisi and are just the latest of a series of highly successful projects launched at Tilisi after ALP West, grade A warehouses by African Logistics Properties and Tilisi Views, luxury villas by Tilisi Developments.
“The key to success in real estate remains the creation of properties that give buyers a different and better lifestyle at the best possible price point,” said Mr Shah.
In order to aid speed and quality, Maisha Developments is also using front-end technology for the build, with the apartments built using aluminium foamwork that remain relatively new in Kenyan construction, but which are now amongst the leading building technologies in developed markets and a key element in the green building movement.