New plan to give investors complete real estate data

Kenya is looking to plug data gaps in the real estate market so investors and households can easily access information to track prices of rents and identify investment opportunities.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) said it is collecting data that will be used to better measure the performance of the real estate sector and help inform decision-making processes for households.

Investors currently rely on informal data to identify potential opportunities in the housing market given the lack of access to reliable information for housing developers or tenants, said KNBS. This new index will bridge those gaps, said the statistics agency.

“The baseline survey will run between July and September 2020, while regular data collection will be conducted every quarter thereafter,” said KNBS in a public notice.

“The survey is targeting establishments that engage in activities of selling and letting or leasing of their own property or on a fee or commission basis, and financial institutions.”

Among those being targeted in the survey include real estate agents and affiliate companies.

The survey will cover residential, commercial and land properties in urban and peri-urban areas across the country.

“Real estate statistics that are accurate and reliable are important…to monitor financial stability, inform economic policy decision making, and in the compilation of national accounts statistics,” said KNBS.