The allure of Sh55,000 studio apartments

“I know to some people it sounds ridiculous to pay that kind of money for a one-room space, but it’s more than just a room for me,” she says sitting in her well-arranged studio filled with warm lighting, a velvet loveseat and a small desk facing the floor-to-ceiling window that floods her space with natural light.

“This place is my sanctuary. I work from home most days, I shoot content here. I also host my occasional client meeting and I wanted a space that felt professional and beautiful all at once,” she adds.

Ms Atieno recalls viewing several one-bedroom apartments in the lower-cost areas but s none of them suited the kind of taste she wanted.

“I walked into so many places where the lighting was poor, the tiles were very horrible and what I value the most is security which in those areas did not seem to be a priority,” she explains.

In Kilimani, she found what she was looking for, a modern studio in a mixed-use complex with a rooftop gym, standby generator in case of electricity cut, lift and round-the-clock security. “It’s not just about the finishes, it’s the fact that I can walk downstairs and get groceries, or take a short cab ride to a client meeting in Westlands, or even meet friends for dinner without leaving my neighbourhood,” she says.

Even more, Ms Atieno says the apartment’s size makes her feel more intentional. “I have learned how to live with less but better,” she says.

Read:  Sh25,000 bedsitters: Kimbo's big leap from bush to booming town

“Every item here has a meaning, my foldable workspace, the bookshelf that doubles up as a room divider, there is my soft rug where I meditate. I also don’t have the pressure of having children run around the space since I am not married.”

Sh55,000 rent

Daniel Nyaga, a property manager who oversees units in areas like Kilimani, Karen in Nairobi, and Syokimau in Machakos, says it is not unusual to find these modern studios renting at Sh40,000, even up to Sh55,000 a month.

The demand for these apartments, he says, is always high.

“Kilimani leads in terms of demand for these studio apartments, majorly because it’s near the city and another factor is the renters are young professionals. They don't have a family and want to settle in a place that is very convenient, maybe close to their workplace and near social amenities,” he explains.

While the older bedsitters still exist, the new generation of studios have redefined urban living.

“Despite the fact that it doesn’t have a bedroom, it has a good space. You have that small kitchen, a place for your couch, the bed, and a bathroom with all modern features,” he says.

What makes these studios especially attractive is not just the location or lifestyle, Mr Nyaga says it’s also their business potential.

“I have seen investors prefer furnishing studios apartment for Airbnb business over two-bedroom apartments. A studio apartment in this areas for example can earn you about Sh110,000 a month while a two-bedroom might only get you Sh150,000 yet the cost of furnishing and renting the two- bedroom is much higher.”

For the Nairobi’s young, independent generation, he says the appeal is obvious.

“These are people who have not committed to families so they prefer to live where they can afford comfort, peace and freedom,” Mr Nyaga says.

The shift to premium studios

When it comes to investment, real estate expert Johnson Denge says it’s all part of larger structural, social and economic shifts that have redefined the way compact housing is perceived and valued.

“There are several factors about the pricing, one is that it’s a matter of supply and demand. In the affluent areas, generally the supply for smaller units is low but when demand surpasses supply then landlords take advantage to increase rent,” he says.

Studios in these spaces, he explains, were originally built as servant quarters or domestic servants quarters which were meant to accommodate domestic staff. However, Mr Denge says with changing labour laws that has changed.

“You’d rather pay the staff a fair wage and have them live in their own homes, so these units began transitioning into studio apartments meant for rent.”

What’s also pushing the cost higher is how expensive it is to maintain multiple small households under one development.

“If I had 10 studio apartments, I’m servicing 10 different households. Compare that to maybe three two-bedroom units within the same space, it’s more expensive to maintain smaller units. That is why rent is high, to cut off the extra service charge,” Mr Denge says.

Then there’s the matter of purchase prices. “You might hear a studio is going for Sh5million but when you break it down, that’s Sh100,000 per square metre. A two-bedroom might go for Sh8 million, which is Sh80,000 per square metre,” he notes.

Paradoxically, studios appear cheaper in absolute terms, which attracts more buyers, pushing their demand and prices higher. “There are many people who can afford Sh5 million, and fewer who can afford Sh15 million,” he adds.

And developers are listening to the market.

At Mi Vida Homes, the surge in demand for smaller living spaces has been hard to ignore having a direct reflection of the changing buyer behaviour especially among young professionals, first-time homeowners and investors seeking high-yield rental properties

“Studio apartments are our fastest-selling unit type, consistently selling out ahead of other configurations,” says Krupa Chohan, Sales Director at Mi Vida Homes

This, she says, is a result of a deliberate pivot to meet the needs of a younger and more agile buyer.

Data vs perception

In contrast to the allure, according to the 2023/2024 Real Estate Survey Report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), studio apartments and bedsitters have the lowest rental yields among property types that averages 2.2 percent annually.

This is based on a typical monthly rent of Sh8,500 and an average sale price of Sh4.6 million. In comparison, larger units such as two-bedroom townhouses are performing better, with average yields of up to 8.3 percent, showing that investors in more spacious properties are getting better returns on their capital.

However, this data mostly applies to long-term rental markets, where studio apartments may struggle to generate meaningful income that is relative to their cost. But in the short-term rental market, especially Airbnb and serviced rentals, the story is different.

Data from AirROI, a platform that tracks short-stay rental performance, shows that Nairobi’s short-term rental market, which is largely made up of studios and one-bedroom units, had an average daily rate of Sh7,200 ($55) per night.

The occupancy rate for these units stood at 32.7 percent over a 12-month period from June 2024 to May 2025.

→[email protected]