What is the Construction Costs in Kenya 2023

Before we look into average construction costs in Kenya 2023, here’s an interesting findings for your consumption:

The average building rates in 2022 ranged from Kshs 34,650 – Kshs 77,500 per square metre. These were pulled from a field study that was conducted during the last quarter of 2021. 

As for 2021, the cost of construction averaged between Kshs 33,650 and Kshs 72,400 per square metre. 

This time around, Project Managers conducted the cost survey between September 2022 and February 2023 – during which time we appraised;

As-built costs from 651 construction projects. 

Contract bills and the accompanying contractor’s payment certificates from 295 ongoing construction projects. 

Prices for building materials across 77 retail hardware stores. These were then used to update the material schedule rates for various past projects. 

The 2022 contract price indices as published by the Joint Building Construction Council (JBC). This is the body that regulates construction contracts in Kenya (formed by architects, engineers, and contractors). 

The rates for construction permits in Kenya.

The following is a breakdown of what we subsequently established as the average construction costs in Kenya 2023. And just like in our previous publications, the building rates per square metre are categorized by region and type of project.

Here’s a disclaimer, though. These are just guidelines to help you in the pre-planning stages of your construction project. Otherwise, for accurate estimates of your building costs, shoot us an email and we’ll advise accordingly.

What is the Cost of Building a House in Kenya in 2023?

The average construction costs in Kenya this year range from Kshs 41,600 per square metre to Kshs 100,800 per square metre. When converted, those building rates translate to Kshs 3,865 per square foot to Kshs 9,365 per square foot.

Kshs 41,600 is the average cost of building one square metre of a standard bungalow in the region of Nairobi and Mt. Kenya. It represents an increase of 20.06% over the past year.

The same would, otherwise, cost you Kshs 43,250 per square metre in the Coast region, while developers in Western Kenya and Nyanza would have to fork out Kshs 42,000 per square metre. This, respectively, is 19.31% and 13.98% more than you’d have spent at the beginning of 2022.

Kshs 100,800 per square metre, on the other hand, applies to luxurious high-rise towers in the city of Nairobi – up from the Kshs 74,000 recorded over the last quarter of 2021. This is a difference of 36.22%, which is the highest surge rate across all the building categories we sampled.

Here’s even a bar graph that represents the differences in Nairobi’s 2023 vs 2022 vs 2021 building costs.
2021 vs 2022 vs 2023 Construction Costs in Nairobi

The Coast region is not doing too well either, as illustrated below 2021 vs 2022 vs 2023 Building Rates in Coastal Kenya

Then as for the region of Western Kenya and Nyanza…2021 vs 2022 vs 2023 cost of construction in western kenya

On average, Kenya’s construction costs have increased by 19.10% over the past year. This is almost three times more than the 5.02% difference between 2021’s and 2022’s building rates.

We’re soon publishing a follow-up report that explains why the cost of construction in Kenya has risen so sharply in 2023. For now, here’s a breakdown of the current building costs across the three primary regions of the country – Nairobi/Mt.Kenya, Coast, and Nyanza/Western.
Construction Costs in Kenya 2023 – Average Building Rates Per Square Metre/Foot

1. Nairobi Region

This encompasses the Nairobi Metropolitan area and the larger Mt. Kenya region.

We sampled buildings, hardware stores, and construction projects in Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Meru, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, and Embu.
Residential houses in Nairobi – Building costs 2023

Standard Bungalow: Kshs 41,600 per square metre, or Kshs 3,865 per square foot.

Middle-Class Maisonette: Kshs 46,800 per square metre, or Kshs 4,348 per square foot.

Luxurious Bungalow: Kshs 55,000 per square metre, or Kshs 5,110 per square foot.

Luxurious Maisonette: Kshs 72,000 per square metre, or  Kshs 6,689 per square foot.

Standard Low Rise Apartment Block: Kshs 45,000 per square metre, or Kshs 4,181 per square foot.

Standard High Rise Apartment Block: Kshs 51,300 per square metre, or Kshs 4,766 per square foot.

Luxurious Apartment Block: Kshs 68,750 per square metre, or Kshs 6,387 per square foot. 

Commercial buildings in Nairobi – Construction costs 2023

Standard Low-Rise Office Block: Kshs 54,100 per square metre, or Kshs 5,026 per square foot.

Standard High-Rise Office Block: Kshs 70,350 per square metre, or Kshs 6,536 per square foot.

Luxurious High-Rise Office Block: Kshs 100,800 per square metre, or Kshs 9,365 per square foot.

Business Park: Kshs 64,500 per square metre, or Kshs 5,992 per square foot.

Small Scale Shopping Centre : Kshs 44,500 per square metre, or Kshs 4,134 per square foot.

Standard Urban Shopping Complex: Kshs 57,000 per square metre, or Kshs 5,295 per square foot.

All-Inclusive Shopping Mall: Kshs 65,500 per square metre, or Kshs 6,085 per square foot.

Industrial projects in Nairobi – Construction rates 2023

Double Storey Factory: Kshs 44,000 per square metre, or Kshs 4,088 per square foot.

High Tech Factory/Lab: Kshs 81,700 per square metre, or Kshs 7,590 per square foot.

Warehouse: Kshs 40,500 per square metre, or Kshs 3,763 per square foot.

Cold Storage Centre: Kshs 41,100 per square metre, or Kshs 3,818 per square foot.

Administration Office: Kshs 42,000 per square metre, or Kshs 3,902 per square foot. 

Related post: COST OF ARCHITECT TO DRAW HOUSE PLANS IN KENYA

2. Coast Region

To establish the average construction costs in Kenya’s coast region, our project managers reviewed buildings, hardware stores, and projects in Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, and Lamu.
Residential houses in the Coast region – Building costs 2023

Standard Bungalow: Kshs 43,250 per square metre, or Kshs 4,018 per square foot.

Middle-Class Maisonette: Kshs 50,000 per square metre, or Kshs 4,645 per square foot.

Luxurious Bungalow: Kshs 58,400 per square metre, or Kshs 5,426 per square foot.

Luxurious Maisonette: Kshs 65,750 per square metre, or Kshs 6,108 per square foot.

Standard Low Rise Apartment Block: Kshs 42,500 per square metre, or Kshs 3,948 per square foot.

Standard High Rise Apartment Block: Kshs 50,500 per square metre, or Kshs 4,692 per square foot.

Luxurious Apartment Block: Kshs 65,000 per square metre, or Kshs 6,039 per square foot.

Commercial buildings in the Coast region – Construction costs 2023

Standard Low-Rise Office Block: Kshs 58,700 per square metre, or Kshs 5,453 per square foot.

Standard High-Rise Office Block: Kshs 75,000 per square metre, or Kshs 6,968 per square foot.

Luxurious High-Rise Office Block: Kshs 97,450 per square metre, or Kshs 9,053 per square foot.

Business Park: Kshs 74,300 per square metre, or Kshs 6,903 per square foot.

Small Scale Shopping Centre : Kshs 46,250 per square metre, or Kshs 4,297 per square foot.
Standard Urban Shopping Complex: Kshs 60,000 per square metre, or Kshs 5,574 per square foot.

All-Inclusive Shopping Mall: Kshs 71,350 per square metre, or Kshs 6,629 per square foot. 

Industrial projects in the Coast region – Construction rates 2023

Double Storey Factory: Kshs 43,500 per square metre, or Kshs 4,041 per square foot.

High Tech Factory/Lab: Kshs 82,250 per square metre, or Kshs 7,641 per square foot.

Warehouse: Kshs 36,000 per square metre, or Kshs 3,345 per square foot.

Cold Storage Centre: Kshs 44,800 per square metre, or Kshs 4,162 per square foot.

Administration Office: Kshs 43,100 per square metre, or Kshs 4,004 per square foot. 

3. Western Region

The Western Region here refers to counties in and around Western Kenya and Nyanza. To confirm their average costs of construction, Integrum’s construction project managers examined building rates in Kisumu, Kakamega, Busia, Kitale, Bungoma, Kisii, Homabay, Kericho, and Eldoret.
Residential houses in Western region – Building costs 2023

Standard Bungalow: Kshs 42,000 per square metre, or Kshs 3,902  per square foot.

Middle-Class Maisonette: Kshs 51,750 per square metre, or Kshs 4,808 per square foot.

Luxurious Bungalow: Kshs 65,400 per square metre, or Kshs 6,076 per square foot.

Luxurious Maisonette: Kshs 74,000 per square metre, or Kshs 6,875 per square foot.

Standard Low Rise Apartment Block: Kshs 49,800 per square metre, or Kshs 4,627 per square foot.

Standard High Rise Apartment Block: Kshs 54,650 per square metre, or Kshs 5,077 per square foot.

Luxurious Apartment Block: Kshs 63,000 per square metre, or Kshs 5,853 per square foot. 

Commercial buildings in Western region – Construction costs 2023

Standard Low-Rise Office Block: Kshs 58,000 per square metre, or Kshs 5,388 per square foot.

Standard High-Rise Office Block: Kshs 80,150 per square metre, or Kshs 7,446 per square foot.

Luxurious High-Rise Office Block: Kshs 95,000 per square metre, or Kshs 8,826 per square foot.

Business Park: Kshs 67,700 per square metre, or Kshs 6,290 per square foot.

Small Scale Shopping Centre: Kshs 48,500 per square metre, or Kshs 4,506 per square foot.

Standard Urban Shopping Complex: Kshs 60,000 per square metre, or Kshs 5,574 per square foot.

All-Inclusive Shopping Mall: Kshs 72,000 per square metre, or Kshs 6,689 per square foot.

Industrial projects in Western region – Construction rates 2023

Double Storey Factory: Kshs 46,200 per square metre, or Kshs 4,292 per square foot.

High Tech Factory/Lab: Kshs 83,000 per square metre, or Kshs 7,711 per square foot.

Warehouse: Kshs 46,900 per square metre, or Kshs 4,357 per square foot.

Cold Storage Centre: Kshs 45,050 per square metre, or Kshs 4,185 per square foot.

Administration Office: Kshs 44,300 per square metre, or Kshs 4,116 per square foot. 

Our Advice

Yes, of course, you can always build cheaper. But “cheap” construction often means compromising the quality, aesthetics, structural integrity, durability, or size of your project – which could in turn jeopardize your ROI and increase the project’s cost-in-use.

Here’s the thing. However cheap you want to go, the fact is, you’ll still end up spending millions of shillings on your construction project. As such, we’d advise you to focus on value-for-money instead.

Getting good value for money means achieving the highest possible outcome from your project budget. And that’s where we come in.

West Kenya Real Estate Ltd will conduct a feasibility study to establish the best rewarding building typology for your budget, and then proceed to oversee everything from design to project hand-over. You can check out a summary of our project management services here.

As for the construction costs in Kenya, we expect them to continue rising for the foreseeable future due to:

Soaring inflation

High energy costs

Trade over-taxation

Weakening shilling 

Poor cost management practices. 

We’ll expound on all these factors in our next publication. In the meantime, you can take a look at these alternative guides for more insights into Kenya’s building rates:

Percentage of Construction Costs per Building Element

Cost of Construction Permits in Nairobi

Cost of Construction Permits in Kiambu

Architects’ Fees in Kenya

Engineering Fees in Kenya

Adopted from integrum.