Why Kenya’s Most Overlooked Neighbourhoods Are Our Real Estate Future

By Caroline Njeru, GulfCap Real Estate, General Manager, Starehe Point.

There’s a false assumption that communities in low income zones don’t long for taste, for a good finish, for pride. Who decided that someone trading in Gikomba doesn’t want a bachelor pad worth showing to their peers? Or a courtyard their children can invite friends to? We have confused low income areas with lack of preference. But dignity lives everywhere, and design can either honour it or erase it.

In Nairobi, names like Starehe, Muthurwa, and Majengo are often whispered with a mix of caution and resignation, seen as too informal, too congested, or too risky to attract serious real estate investment. But for those willing to look beyond the headlines and zoning maps, these places offer something rare. Density with purpose. Movement with meaning. Life in full motion.

The reality? Only 7.7% of Nairobi households own their homes, while 88% rent, according to 2024 data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Nairobi ranks last in the country for homeownership, not for lack of aspiration, but for lack of equitable access. In a city of over 4.3 million, we’ve built vertically but not intentionally. Our skyline rises, yet millions remain priced out or overlooked.

At the same time, Nairobi’s daytime population swells to 7.5 million, up from 4.3 million at night, as nearly 3 million people commute daily according to Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA). Of these, over 1 million ride matatus and approximately 850,000 walk, a clear indicator of where economic and social life truly lies. (MDPI). 

Moreover, homeownership has actually declined to 61% in 2024 (KHS 2024), a signal not of weak demand, but of misaligned supply. The real gap isn't in aspiration, it's in inventory that reflects how people actually live, move and earn.

This is where the mid market lives and this is where we build.

Meanwhile, skyscrapers continue to rise, some elegant, many hurried. On roads with no drainage, beside communities with limited schooling options, with parking squeezed into what used to be sidewalks. Unstructured planning has turned some areas into glass deserts; dense and disconnected.

The answer isn't always high rise. It's high regard. 

When we started working in places like Starehe, we didn’t begin with blueprints. We began by paying attention to people’s livelihoods. Their transit routes showed us what no report could; where people already live, work, shop, and connect.

Areas marked high risk are often poorly lit, ignored by basic infrastructure, or forgotten by urban policy. And so we began to reimagine what development could look like, not as towers, but as touchpoints.

At Starehe Point, we’re building affordable, mid rise housing with active ground floors with spaces for kiosks, pharmacies, and cafes. Young professionals are showing up not just as renters, but as owners. 

“To be honest, I never thought a serious developer would come to this side of town. It’s always been written off as risky, too informal, too unpredictable. But the moment I saw the site works and the way they were integrating play grounds and a basketball court, I knew this wasn’t just another speculative build. This was a team that understood the ground, and the people.” David M., investor and business owner.

Markets are opportunities hiding in plain sight. Urban Kenya is young, mobile, and ambitious. But it’s being underserved by developers chasing the top 10% of earners. If we reoriented to build where real lives unfold, we wouldn’t just be solving the housing crisis, we’d be redefining urban success.

The future of Kenyan cities should not be limited to boardrooms meetings or speculative brochures. It should be shaped by how boldly we invest in places we've long overlooked. Inventors alike know that the most resilient opportunities are anchored on people. Capital follows the movement of people and if we pay attention, we just might build a city worth belonging to, not just passing through.

Starehe Point is more than an address, it’s an inevitable stand out, a jewel in a changing city. We’re building sustainable neighbourhoods that people want to stay in, grow in and belong to longer after, for generations to come.