Land prices in Kenya’s coastal towns have surged by more than 70 per cent in some areas since the Covid-19 pandemic, as a wave of remote workers, retirees, diaspora buyers and long-stay visitors increasingly settle at the Coast, according to a new report by property firm HassConsult.
The firm’s newly launched Coastal Land Price Index shows that Diani and Watamu have emerged among the country’s fastest-growing property hotspots between 2020 and 2025, driven largely by demand for scenic coastal living and lifestyle migration.
According to the report, land prices in Diani rose by 79.1 per cent over the five-year period, while Watamu recorded a 70.4 per cent increase. Lamu followed at 59.7 per cent, while Bamburi posted a 56.6 per cent rise.
HassConsult said the Coast is increasingly becoming a distinct investment and lifestyle market, detached from wider national economic trends.
“Coastal land has delinked from general economic trends in Kenya on new dynamics during the 2020s,” said Sakina Hassanali, Co-CEO and Creative Director at HassConsult.
“Across remote working, retirement relocation, and the long tail of international and domestic buyers who first discovered the Coast as tourists, it has developed its own, distinct land dynamics.”
The report attributes the sharp rise in prices to what it terms a “beauty premium,” where ocean proximity, wide beaches and scenic landscapes are increasingly influencing land values.
Read Also: KLM Delivers Bongos to Kenya in Landmark Conservation
The Stima Loan Meter Trap: How to Avoid Paying Your Landlord’s Electricity Bill.
Nyali currently commands the Coast’s highest average land price at Sh114 million per acre, while beachfront property in the area attracts a 19 per cent premium over the wider market average.
The report found that areas with wider and more visually appealing beaches such as Diani, Watamu and Lamu recorded the strongest appreciation, while regions with narrower beaches, weaker infrastructure and fewer lifestyle facilities saw slower growth.
Kilifi Town posted the highest annual growth in 2025 at 8.8 per cent, while Mombasa City recorded the weakest annual performance, declining by 1.03 per cent.
Areas such as Vipingo and Malindi registered relatively subdued five-year growth of about 25 per cent, which the report linked to weaker aesthetics and limited facilities.
HassConsult also warned that unresolved land ownership issues, poor infrastructure and water shortages continue to suppress investment in parts of Kilifi and Kwale counties.
“Professionals moving to the Coast to work remotely, or relocating from all over the world to enjoy leisured retirements, simply will not buy when land titles are uncertain or water precarious,” said Ms Hassanali.
Overall, the Hass Coast Land Index recorded a 40.7 per cent increase over the last five years, underlining the growing attractiveness of Kenya’s coastline as both a residential and investment destination.
