Influence of Off-Plan Purchases and Sales on Performance of Real Estate Development Projects in Kilimani, Westlands Sub County, Nairobi County, Kenya (original) (raw)

Foreign investors have been focusing on the real estate sector with investors from China, India and other countries increasingly investing in high-rise buildings across the country especially in Nairobi County. However, as noted by previous reports, the performance of real estate projects has been dropping significantly in the recent past with most of the buildings remaining stagnant for years. This is despite the recorded increase in foreign direct investment and most recently the focus by the government on housing as one of the big-four agendas. It is on this background that the study seeks to answer the question; what is the influence of off-plan sales and purchases in the foreign direct investment on the performance of real estate development projects? Descriptive research design was used while the target population was the real estate companies in Kilimani area, Nairobi County. There are 48 registered real estate companies in this area. The units of observation were the directors, finance officers and investment managers from the 48 companies. This made a total of 144 respondents. Purposive sampling method was employed where the company directors, finance officers and investment managers will be purposively picked. The data was collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistical analysis techniques. The findings revealed that off-plan sales and purchases significantly and positively influenced the performance of real estate development projects in Kilimani area, Westlands Sub-County. Government policy was also found to significantly moderate the relationship between foreign direct investments and performance of the real estate development projects. The study concluded that through off-plan sales and purchases, the real estate development projects performance better.