Prime
Up and coming posh neighbourhoods
Cities such as Jinja, Entebbe, and Mbarara are growing and offer investment opportunities in various property types. PHOTO/TONYMUSHOBOROZI
What you need to know:
Encouraged by the abundance of demand, property developers have gone out of the way to make sure there is a neighbourhood that suits every individual taste and income. But some neighbourhoods tend to consistently attract the moneyed class, turning them into posh residential areas.
As the property boom continues, some areas around Kampala are slowly being transformed into exclusive areas for the discerning resident.
Many of such areas were mere bushes fifteen years ago but today are neighbourhoods featuring the kind of classy properties that appeal to the new-money middle class and business class. Some of the reasons for these areas becoming a magnet for the moneyed class all of a sudden include new roads that open up in such areas, orderly demarcation of plots that encourages organised development and access to high quality facilities and services like schools and leisure facilities. The follwing neighborhoods are the up and coming posh areas and happen to be some of the most sought after neighbourhoods today..
Kigo
This hilly neighbourhood is located on the Munyonyo-Entebbe Expressway, halfway between Munyonyo and Kajjansi. It boasts of a very beautiful view of Lake Victoria, a fresh breeze from the lake half a hilometer away, great accessibility, proximity to Serena Hotel and top of the range properties.
Kigo was largely a deserted village less than 20 years ago, full of bushes and farmland owned by the locals. But then, a five star hotel was built in the area and a highway was built over the last 15 years, opening up the place to property investors. You can get to Kigo through Kajjansi or through Munyonyo via the expressway., including several other minor routes
The homes in Kigo are beautiful and expensive, the kinds that people dreamt of building when they were starting out. their careers The houses are luxurious and huge, built on large swaths of land, some as big as an acre.
Today, 25 decimals (110 feet by 110 feet plot/ a quarter of an acre) goes for at least Shs250m in Kigo. Due to the increasing demand for residential real estate, you would be lucky to get an acre at less than a billion shillings in the area. And if you are liquid enough to call Kigo home, you will be neighbors to \uganda’s young and affluent.
Its accessibility and great views of the lake have turned Kigo into one of the most preferred choices for residential real estate investments.
Kyanja
Kyanja’s development into a residential property haven that it is today is a result of the natural, organic progression that the property market always takes. Property investors will throng to an area and buy land simply because they perceive it to have great potential. Great properties will be built, helping attract even more people to the area.
After some time, the prices in that area will shoot up because of the high demand, causing prospective buyers to look for cheaper land in the next village and the cycle restarts. When people could no longer afford Ntinda, they moved to Kisaasi, and when Kisaasi was saturated, they moved to Kyanja. At least this is what experts believe.
Kyanja today is mostly attractive to rental properties investors. The return on investment in rental properties is good here because the young workers of Kampala tend to gravitate towards the northern part of Kampala city where Kyanja is found. And investors know this. Experts say the vast majority of new properties in Kyanja are rental homes and apartments, not homes.
A standard 50 feet by 100 feet plot in Kyanja goes for between Shs200m and Shs250m according to property brokers in the area.
Kyanja is very accessible since it lies at an intersection of two major roads: Gayaza road and Kyanja-Kisaasi-Ntindaroad. This makes it easy for people in a rush to dodge traffic jam using one of the various access roads.
Some of the luxurious homes that are typical of the new neighbourhoods. PHOTOs/Tony Mushoborozi.
Bwebajja
This hill midway between Kampala and Entebbe is a special real estate melting pot. From the old Entebbe Road, the hill appears to be populated by very organised housing, large schools and some apartment buildings, nothing out of the ordinary.
However, if you turn in and climb to the top of the hill, you will be met by a sight you did not expect to find. The area is filled with multi-million dollar villas that cannot be found elsewhere in these quantities.
Bwebajja is one of those exclusive neighbourhoods that have their own golf course. One of the major reasons ultra-rich businessmen of Kampala call this place home is because the prospects of the rate of appreciation is high, given the area’s strategic location and its seamless connectivity.
While it is in the midpoint between Kampala and Entebbe, it is also far away from the noise of both cities, but close enough to commute comfortably. The more exclusive area of Bwebajja is off the main road by about two kilometres, making it very quiet. While most of \bwebajja does not have a lake view, one can still enjoy the breeze straight from the lake.
The neighbourhood boasts of being home to Taibah International School which is popular with the well-to-do of Kampala.
One resident told this newspaper that she relocated from Mutungo, Luzira, to the area to enable her two children (nine and 11 years old) attend school without the hustle of crossing the city everyday on the commute.
The property rush of Bwebajja is believed to have started with the establishment of Akright City, a private housing estate that put up ultra-modern houses in an organised gated community.
A plot measuring 25 decimals goes for between Shs400m and Shs500m. But you better have deep pockets to build a house that turns heads or else you will not be able to fit in with anything less than dazzling architecture and an expansive footprint.
Bulindo
Bulindo is a rich man’s area, reminiscent of areas such as Muyenga or Naguru. It is the place many millennials with successful careers aspire to live. The suburb is found in Kira Municipality, some 15km North of Kampala city. It is two kilometers away from Kira Town and four kilometers away from Kayunga Road`, meaning that its accessibility is not restricted.
Bulindo is one of the most desirable places to buy land and build a house because the plot demarcations were done well, according to Alex Tumukunde, a property trader in the area. It is popular with Ugandans in the diaspora and new-money middle class.
One of the attractions pulling investors to the area is the class of homes that are already developed in the area. There are many double storeyed houses, with great finishes and fancy roofing tiles. A plot of land measuring (50feet by 100feet) goes for between Shs150 and Shs250m depending on the location.
Lubowa
Just five years ago, Lubowa had large tracts of land, acres and acres that were undeveloped. Most of this land, especially on the south-facing side of the hill, was bushes and farmland.
But for some reason, palatial homes started sprouting up everywhere during and post-lockdown so that Lubowa became one large building site. While many have been completed, many more are under construction, making the place feel like it has just been discovered by property investors. Other than homes, investors are building large hotels, apartment buildings and malls.
Lubowa is one of the areas that has been hidden in plain sight for decades. About twenty years ago, National Housing set up a housing estate in the area and opened the eyes of property investors to this gem.
