Narok-right place wrong town; its the only decent town for miles with Nairobi and naivasha being 2 hours away and bomet 1.5hours away.i think the Narok county council is one disorganized lot; there is very poor planning of the town as evidenced by the disorganized buildings,very bad roads outside the town as you head to most residential areas and the common flooding of most of the town whenever it rains due to its low lying location.residents are trapped and have no option but to use the town

The town itself is ok and its one of the few rural towns i have seen having a booming cab business and the older the cab the less the business you get meaning most of them are new-plates premios,allions,runx etc They road network poor

On the plus side with tourism comes money to spend although i feel they haven't effectively utilized this. Restaurants within the town are luck lusture and only two-three are worth eating at. I feel like there are no alternatives within the town for the wealthy farmers and tourists seeking entertainment. Farming is big in Narok and the county has very many wealthy farmers as a result meaning increased purchasing power.

Another advantage of the town is Narok constituent college that shall be elevated in the near future into a fully fledged university thus opening up demand for real estate

Rental yields are good due to lack of good accomodation in the town,a comfortable two bedroom in a nice estate going for 15k with demand exceeding supply.add the incoming devolution and you have a greater demand and low supply of quality housing

Only issue i have is with Narok County Council being one of the richest in the country with such poor service provision to the people of Narok,i fear the county government might fall into the same 'eating' trap at least for the 1st two years before they wake up.

County and town with potential but only if they can get their act together,plan and maximize as they have it all.Am betting the nearby counties might overtake them should they not get it right this time round

Thanks @Mibbz, good info here. I think it's one of those you get a kaacre or two and forget about it just for speculation and then go HAM on Meru and the likes. Someone was telling me an acre is going for 160k so am going to find out more info on this.

i shall give you an example of Eldoret and its surrounding towns of kapsabet,Iten and Kabarnet which have continued to fade as Eldoret grows.

Thing is why invest in a not so progressive Embu while the more vibrant Meru and up-coming Chuka and perhaps Mwea are a better option with better returns? Embu needs to wake up!

Muthaiga is in many towns like nanyuki,Nyeri even Nyahururu, reason Nyahe is booming is because its the getway to maralal and that part of the upper rift valley.businesses doing well in that town especially hardwares and restaurants although supermarkets could do a bit more.the Laikipia university college has a campus somewhere near the town but i dont think its as big and it could improve

there is a big hotel with flats at the back that most professionals stay and rent is approx 10k for a 2 bed room but they are many thus owner doing well in terms of economies of scale as its almost fully let out

I still believe there is a lot of potential untapped in the hospitality industry because of the large ranches in the region with wealthy farmers as well as tourists visiting samburu or thompsons falls or aberdares and tafaria castle could do with more competition.

Industries i would go into:
transport-to maralal although high maintenance costs eg transport wheat after harvest in samburu

hospitality-huge market no product diversity

farming

@mibbz,
When you say you have interacted with the locals..how do you go about it?Do you say enter a bar and buy total strangers a drink in exchange for info..?

A good reporter doesn't reveal his sources but i interact with locals in a unique way resulting in picking up of info here and there

Waoh. You guyz r informed. Am in Mbsa and as u know tunakujaga hapa akili zinaingia holiday mood. Am fixated with Meru. But being new with properties,I know this site will continue shedding more light on the potential of different towns. More info on Meru properties land,plots n business please.

This thread has taken a diversionary path..going back to Kona Bardi what are the prospects of the area becoming another "Karen" complete with KCs' and their hermit ways?

Is Champagne Ridge corner baridi?

@ChumaQuest Thanks for your question. I have been there several times since July 2012....I was even there on Saturday. From Kona Baridi right at the foot of Ngong hills..The all weather (Kipeto Rd) you will find significant settlement in this area..several Bungalows and maisonettes some still under construction. Greenhouse farming is evident here, but as you get to ilmasi center where there is a school and some form of center. To the right of the road facing the valley(beautiful look by the way!) are the farms owned by the Muzungu. On the left you will see dotted mabati houses with blue wooden doors and windows owned by the Masai, which i have come to learn that its the best form of house for them. Further in about 6Km now from the tarmac is Leakey's farm 1000plus acres still on the right of the road. Most of the land is still bare and not cultivated mostly used for grazing. I have the photos which I could share with you more so I go there this weekend.