Various factors define the cost of construction of your real estate project in Kenya. If you are able to control these factors favorably, your construction project can be quite cost friendly.  One of the things that your architect assists you to accomplish is to find that middle ground where you can achieve best value for your money such that you achieve your building objectives in the most sensible and cost friendly manner.  

What sort of real estate project in Kenya are you interested in developing on your site? That is the question.

It is true that the type of building plays a major role in your construction. It goes to show that the type of functions that will be undertaken within the building will define what finishes will be applied on the building, including what facade treatments will be used.  For example the design of a facade for an office will employ elements such as curtain walling, intrinsic wall coatings and perhaps use of granite cladding etc. These are premium fittings and finishes that will cost more than finishes that are related to residential projects.

You may find that with many contemporary buildings, features that were often related to commercial buildings are being integrated into residential buildings to give them that modern flair. Its interesting to see more and more residentials being built with the kind of openings previously associated with commercial storefronts, or with open planning in interior layouts that were traditionally the preserve of offices. However depending on how these have been done, your building costs may be adversely affected such that the same square footage of space would be more expensive to construct.

With ‘contemporary’ type of fittings and finishes, your cost per square meter may increase by 25 – 40% using these kinds of finishes, but the end effect is amazing.

Your building type’s structural system is a major factor affecting building costs of real estate projects in Kenya

Depending on what it is you as a real estate developer in Kenya are building, one construction system may more favorable than another. Buildings that contain modular spaces defined by particular repetitive structures are better constructed using post and beam or framed structures, as opposed to using ordinary structures.  A house may be more advantageous to construct with a wall bearing system intermixed with some reinforced concrete elements where one may want to avoid walls.

As the structure of a building bears as much as 60 to 70% of a building’s cost, the type of structural system that one chooses to build with greatly influences the cost of your building. Reinforced concrete plays a major role in the type of building structure that we have, and the cost of your building varies much based on its usage. By doing an efficient building structure, you can reduce your overall costs.

It therefore makes good economic sense to optimize your building structure using technologies that reduce on expensive components of building reinforced concrete for example, e.g. using fibremesh or waffle slabs. Of course this will call for a willingness by the developer to embrace new building technologies, especially if they have the advantage of reducing building time or mass materials that will go into the construction process.

The relation of the size of spaces within your building must be considered in real estate projects

This may be an area of contention between many developers and their architects when they are doing real estate. Again it is an area where buyers of homes may get a raw deal when it is taken to the extreme of being extremely small. The point is that the spaces you provide within your building need to be contrived in the right scale for its likely use. Opulence must be paid for. Should you choose to have rooms within your building that are scaled for large numbers of users and extreme spaciousness, you must be aware that you will need to pay a premium for the extra space.

Finishes and fittings are big players in determining the costs of real estate project in Kenya

How you select the kind of fittings such as lavatories, water closets and bathtubs would like to affect how you end up spending on your house. These items totally depend on your particular style, and cost differently depending on their type and quality. A sustainable approach to dealing with this elements in the building is preferable as they would offer better value for money during the lifespan of the building. They may cost slightly higher at the onset, but the savings obtained over many years of service make them worthwhile.

On items such as sanitary fittings and electrical fittings, again choice and personal preference play a big role. European brands are often considered to be the highest in quality, and definitely come with a hefty price tag. However with a bit of looking around, there are several manufacturers from the Middle East, India to the Far East who have very competitive products that one may use on their building. Of course the favorite of importing from China is an option. The idea though is that one must know what tradeoff to make when comparing prices versus quality and durability.

Your services and level of their sophistication must be considered

How sophisticated are the systems you would like to provide in your building? Are your building services too elaborate for your building functions or are they inadequate for the needs of the building to meet its functions? For example provision of access control into a space can be implemented through provision of access key controls with card readers as opposed to having a biometric reader controlling automated access doors. Consideration must be made for the level of services that you need to operate that part of your building, lest you overspend on other items.  They should be considered in light of overcoming any inability to achieve certain functions within a space.

Provision of external works are a major factor defining cost of construction

Perhaps one of the most overlooked items when considering prices of homes is the effect of external works costs on the bottom line. Builders sometime overlook this cost when considering what they have spent on their projects, yet the cost of this element is quite substantial. Not considering this would bring a major discrepancy in your pricing.

External works are a major price contributor as they are responsible for the works shaping exterior spaces to a construction project. They typically include bulk items such as guard houses, landscaping, driveways, sewer and storm drainage, and a big one…. the boundary wall. Should you do a boundary wall around a half acre property, expect to spend close to a million shillings. Items such as connection of power and water utilities, treatment of parking and driveway facilities and those above must be valued and their cost apportioned to each development

You really need to consider these items in order to achieve a successful building project. Perhaps you have already developed your building. If you have do share with us what you consider as major lessons learnt dealing with cost items. What would you consider to be the major cost forces influencing real estate projects in Kenya?