CBK survey: Kenyan real estate firms weigh cost cuts and industry decline
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The Central Bank of Kenya's September 2026 Market Perceptions Survey found that industry decline and cost reduction each accounted for 33 percent of the factors behind real estate respondents' employment expectations for 2026.
Kenya's real estate sector is operating in a business environment where cost reduction and concerns about industry decline are shaping employers' staffing decisions, according to the Central Bank of Kenya's September 2026 Market Perceptions Survey.
The survey found that industry decline and cost reduction each accounted for 33 percent of the factors cited by real estate respondents when explaining their employment expectations for 2026 relative to 2025. Digital transformation and increasing profits by reducing overheads each accounted for 17 percent.
The CBK report does not establish that a third of real estate firms are failing, closing or planning layoffs. The percentages represent shares of the factors cited in the survey's breakdown of employment expectations rather than a national measure of business performance, and the findings do not specify which expenses firms are cutting or how many jobs could be affected.
Respondents across the private sector called for lower and more predictable energy, fuel and water costs, improved infrastructure and logistics, and timely settlement of government pending bills. They also emphasised the need to expand access to affordable credit, particularly for small and medium enterprises, through lower lending rates and longer-tenure financing.
For the property market, the survey offers an indication of the considerations influencing hiring plans among surveyed businesses rather than evidence that the sector is contracting or that prices and rents will fall, the report noted.