The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) is conducting a Real Estate Survey (RES) to collect data that will be used to better measure the performance of the real estate sector. The baseline survey will run between July and September 2020, while regular data collection will be conducted every quarter thereafter. The survey is targeting establishments that engage in activities of selling and letting/leasing of own property or on a fee/commission basis, and financial institutions. These include but not limited to real estate agent and affiliate companies. The survey will cover residential, commercial and land properties in urban and peri-urban areas across the country.
The broad objective of the survey is to construct real estate price indices for monitoring the performance of the sector. Specific objectives of the survey are:
- Collect data and generate statistics on Kenya’s property market to address the existing data gaps
- Meet international, regional and domestic requirements for real estate statistics
- Update the KNBS business register
Real estate statistics that are accurate and reliable are important for various reasons. The International Monetary Fund Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs) Guide (IMF, 2006) identifies real estate markets as an important source of indicators for both financial and non-financial sectors. They are used to monitor financial stability, inform economic policy decision making, and in the compilation of national accounts statistics. In households, residential property purchases and rent constitute a high proportion of urban and peri-urban household expenditures. The statistics generated can be used to inform decision making processes for households.