Agents tap digital spaces to connect tenants with landlords

Are you looking for a house to rent? Keep calm; troop to Instagram, Facebook, or even Tiktok and your needs will be met.

“Gone are days when prospective tenants would move from an estate to an estimate scouting for houses. We post houses of different sizes across the city and its environs and charge small ‘viewing’ fees. We earn more once we connect a tenant with a landlord,” Winnie Chege told the Star.

The 27-year-old business administration student at a local university is among tens of enterprising Kenyans riding on the Internet of Things to connect tenants with landlords, earning between Sh1,000 to Sh5,000 per gig.

The online house agent who has since grown her Instagram page to 145,000 followers says she saw the opportunity after her elder sister searched for two weeks looking for a house to rent without success.

“My sister who had just relocated to Kenya’s capital city from Eldoret not only spent more than two weeks looking for a two-bedroom house but was also conned by a man masquerading as a house agent for an apartment in Ruaka. That was an eye-opener,” Chege who boasts of successfully connecting at least 35 tenants to their dream homes said.

She explains that Covid-19 movement restrictions gave her ample time to grow her social media pages and work on a business plan.

“I participated in almost all the campaigns I came across,” she said.“I started as a junior agent for a mid-size real estate company after pitching my idea to the manager I met online. I helped the firm set up social media pages and campaigns. I didn’t last there six months as my ambition was even greater.”

She works hand in hand with construction companies, real estate firms, house agents and owners.She does house reviews and posts them on her social media pages.

She has since employed two of her cousins who help in responding to numerous inquiries by clients. “I have two other employees who accompany clients during viewing”.

“Once a client is interested in a house, a Sh1,500 viewership fee must be paid. I have worked different packages based on location and house size for landlords, agents and real estate firms for every complete business,” Chege said.

The enterprising lady earns close to Sh200,000 on a bad month, which she shares with her team.

She charges a commission of Sh1,000 per tenant connected for a 2-bedroom house for eight consecutive months and a one-off payment of Sh6,000 for one-bedroom.

“I get at least Sh14,500 for every three-bedroom house. This, I charge house owners. I enter such arrangements with few tenants,” Chege said.

EvaTheRealtor who runs an online house agency on Tiktok targeting tenants looking to relocate to Kamakis, Ruai and Ruiru in the outskirts of Nairobi has long term plan for the business.

After searching job-hunting for three years, the communications graduate says she is happy where she is now, earning at least Sh90,000 by connecting tenants to house owners.

“I hear people curse Tiktok but I can only count my blessings. I have connected more than 100 tenants and helped tens of house owners find customers. This is the future of real estate,” the online realtor who refused to give us her official name said.

Rachel Anyango, a tenant in Sigona has all the praises for the rising innovation in the real estate sector, saying technology has made things easier for all stakeholders.

Last year, the senior police officer in Nairobi found a three-bedroom house online, paid via mobile money and found movers on social media who helped her family settle in the new house.

“I have never met the owner. This is my seventh month now. All is well.”

A housing expert Albert Kamotho says that innovation is simplifying the sector which has for decades been shrouded in complexities.

“Buying, selling and renting houses was treated with secrecy, imperialism and complex jargon that threatened to deny it the benefits that come with technological advancements. Today, an 18-year-old, armed with nothing but a smartphone can sell a house worth millions,” Kamotho said.

He said that these are some of the emerging trends likely to breathe life into the sector that is currently on the recovery path from Covid-19 ruins.

Kenya’s real estate sector has been on a growth trajectory in recent years, supported by strong economic fundamentals and a growing middle class.

The sector contributed 8.6 per cent to the country’s GDP in 2024. The real estate market exhibited steady growth in 2024, driven by increasing urbanisation, infrastructure development, and a growing middle class.