Covid-19 appears to have jolted Kenya’s super-rich into a new search for sanctuaries, with many now considering buying a second home within a spacious and green locality outside the major cities.

In its latest report, realtor Knight Frank say their consultations with private bankers and wealth advisors revealed that the super-rich or Kenyans worth above Sh100 million who stayed home the better part of 2020 had resolved to create private green spaces, preferably upcountry or on the coastal region.

Seventeen percent of the ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) plan to fulfil their plans this year just as President Uhuru Kenyatta recently revealed owning a ranch in Narok County.

Knight Frank Kenya boss Ben Woodhams says there is a rise in demand for residential property (a second home) “amongst our clients, especially with a strong focus for rural and coastal properties that have access to open spaces.

“The pandemic is super-charging demand for locations that offer green spaces as more people are increasingly focused on wellness as they spent a great deal of 2020 at home, working remotely,” adds the
managing director.

In top demand are retirement homes at 38 percent, a surge never seen before. Last year, only a paltry 13 percent thought of acquiring homes to stay in as they enjoyed old money.

Loss of income

The report discloses that Kenyans are also keen to develop rental properties to self-insulate against loss of income as it happened last year whereby the Sh100 million affluent families suffered a whopping 22 percent fall, compared with a global decline of just eight percent.

“Despite the slip, our wealth sizing model predicts that over the next five years, Kenya’s High-Net-Worth individuals’ (HNWI) population will bounce back by 46 percent,” it adds.

Kenya’s attractiveness as an investment destination is further emboldened by 81 percent super-rich families’ decision to invest here at home as compared to a paltry 19 percent considering citizenship of another country.

The Wealth Report’s Attitudes Survey of Private Bankers and Wealth Advisors indicated many are exploring opportunities to create wealth here “at home” compared with 39 percent of wealthy Chinese and a whopping 62 percent of HNWIs in Nigeria who look outward for new sources of wealth.

Double digit-wealth growth

Kenya remains a double digit-wealth growth destination, with some sectors reporting above 50 percent returns as opposed to the West where many only settle for less than three percent return on investments.

Knight Frank’s Attitudes Survey shows Kenya’s super-rich say Covid-19 is by far the biggest current worry hurting their prospects of creating and preserving their wealth.

The firm, with property management businesses across Africa Europe and the Americas, says that while in the past the super-rich in Kenya concentrated investments in residential private rented sector (22 percent),
retail (17 percent), offices (14 percent) and retirement taking a paltry 13 percent appears to have been wished off by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Kenyan UHNWIs are more interested in directing investments towards retirement and development land (38 percent), residential private rented sector (33 percent), agricultural (29 percent), while retail and healthcare take up 25 percent.

The report reveals renewed optimism in rural investments where the super-rich will lock themselves with their property, concentrate on money-making activities as well as produce their own “healthy” food.

Wellness, which has for long been ignored has enjoyed new interest with many of the super- rich now opting for gyms, regular doctor visits and deliberate healthy eating as opposed to the binge eating and drinking
that saw many of them pass off as obese.

The new super-rich individuals are exercise-loving individuals who spend hours on end on treadmills or jogging within private tracks while their diets are managed by trained nutritionists and homes managed by trained nurses.

The demand for greener spaces has also created a new rush where developers are jostling to invest in properties that boast waterparks, jogging tracks, manicured lawns for outdoor activities as well as open air cinema and bistro spaces.