Kenyan property developer HassConsult is betting that social connection and resident experiences can become a new source of value in a housing market traditionally driven by location, size and specifications.
The company has introduced Elevate by Hass, a resident-experience platform that brings fitness, wellness, dining, entertainment, work and community activities into its residential developments. The initiative was first deployed at Enaki Town in Nairobi and is now being expanded across HassConsult’s portfolio.
The strategy comes as developers globally increasingly incorporate wellness and social infrastructure into residential projects. The Global Wellness Institute estimates the global wellness real-estate market at about $548 billion and projects it will exceed $1 trillion by 2029, according to figures cited by HassConsult.
For HassConsult, the commercial test is whether residents will pay for — and remain in — developments where community is part of the product.
Enaki’s first phase, comprising 440 apartments, is about 92% occupied, with waiting lists for some fully occupied unit types, the company said. Its next phase, Enaki Forestside, has sold about 50% of its homes within four months of launch, according to HassConsult.
Forestside is being developed around a 23,000-square-foot private forest, with additional fitness, social, work and wellness facilities. HassConsult has positioned the development as an extension of Enaki’s resort-style residential model rather than simply another apartment project.
“The traditional measures of residential value, location, size, specification, are no longer the full picture. When residents genuinely belong to where they live, it shows up commercially,” Farhana Hassanali, HassConsult’s Co-CEO and Development Director, said.
At Enaki, the company has moved beyond building amenities to programming them. A dedicated movement studio hosts fitness and wellness activities, while an Artcaffé marketplace has been used for social events including high teas, children’s baking competitions and cultural festivals.
HassConsult’s Elevate platform says it has already delivered more than 34 curated events and 597 health and fitness sessions, generating more than 1,000 resident engagements.
The company’s bet reflects a broader challenge created by increasingly digital lifestyles. The Global Wellness Institute data cited by HassConsult says 20% of Kenyans spend more than six hours a day on social media, while 26% of Kenyan employees experience frequent loneliness.
That is creating an opportunity for developers to sell something beyond physical space: reasons for residents to leave their apartments and interact with their neighbours.
“The design brief of the future has to include human connection as an outcome,” Sakina Hassanali, HassConsult’s Co-CEO and Creative Director, said. “What draws people out of their homes and keeps them coming back cannot be left to chance.”
HassConsult is now incorporating Elevate into other developments, making resident experience another layer of its property business alongside research, development, sales, letting and management.
The strategy marks a shift in how developers may compete for affluent urban residents in Nairobi, where green space, wellness, hospitality and community are increasingly being packaged alongside conventional measures such as location and square footage.
For HassConsult, the early occupancy and sales figures at Enaki offer an initial commercial test of whether belonging can be turned into a property premium.
