As digital lifestyles reshape how people work, socialise and spend their time, property developers are beginning to rethink what makes a home valuable. HassConsult is betting that the next generation of residential communities will be defined as much by connection and experience as by location and design.
For decades, the fundamentals of residential property in Kenya have been relatively straightforward: location, size, design, price and, increasingly, amenities. But the definition of what makes a home desirable may be changing.
As more aspects of everyday life move online, developers are beginning to confront a less tangible challenge, how to create residential environments where people do not simply live, but also interact, socialize and build a sense of community. It is a shift that is beginning to influence the way residential developments are designed and operated.
HassConsult is positioning itself at the forefront of that emerging conversation through Elevate by Hass, a resident experience platform designed around fitness, wellness, entertainment, work, dining and community activities.
The platform is being rolled out following the experience of Enaki Town, the developer’s lifestyle-oriented residential development, where amenities have been positioned not merely as physical facilities but as spaces for ongoing interaction and programming.
The move reflects a broader evolution in real estate: the recognition that the value of a residential development can extend beyond the apartment itself to the quality of life and experiences it creates for residents.
The social dimension of real estate
The case for this shift is partly being driven by changing patterns of modern life. According to figures cited in the Global Wellness Institute’s 2026 Global Wellness Communities and Real Estate report, wellness real estate is estimated at KSh78.9 trillion (US$548 billion) globally and is projected to exceed KSh129 trillion (US$1 trillion) by 2029.
The report places increasing emphasis on the relationship between the built environment, wellbeing and social connection.
It cites research indicating that people with access to social infrastructure are significantly more likely to report having close friends, while also pointing to the role of intentional design and programming in creating opportunities for interaction. The issue has particular resonance in Kenya.
The report cited by HassConsult notes that Kenyans spend more time on social media than people in any other country, with 20 per cent reportedly averaging more than six hours a day on social media. It also states that 26 per cent of Kenyan employees experience loneliness frequently.
While digital connectivity has made communication easier, it has not necessarily translated into stronger physical communities. For property developers, this creates an interesting question: can the places people live help address the social fragmentation that increasingly accompanies digital lifestyles? HassConsult’s answer is to make connection part of the residential experience itself.
From amenities to experiences
The concept behind Elevate by Hass represents a departure from the traditional approach to residential amenities. A swimming pool, gym, restaurant or landscaped garden can increase the attractiveness of a development, but their mere presence does not necessarily create community.
HassConsult is instead seeking to activate these spaces through programming that encourages residents to use them regularly and interact with one another. At Enaki, a purpose-built movement studio provides space for ongoing fitness and wellness programming delivered by specialist operator Yves Preissler.
The development’s Artcaffé-operated marketplace has similarly been positioned as more than a food outlet, hosting activities including high teas, children’s baking competitions and cultural festivals. The strategy effectively turns amenities into recurring experiences.
Rather than residents simply having access to a gym, restaurant or community space, the objective is to create reasons for them to return, participate and interact. It is an important distinction because residential communities are ultimately occupied by people, not buildings.
“The traditional measures of residential value, location, size and specification, are no longer the full picture. When residents genuinely belong to where they live, it shows up commercially,” says Farhana Hassanali, Co-CEO and Development Director at HassConsult. The commercial implications of that philosophy are now becoming an important part of the company’s proposition.
When community becomes a commercial proposition
The strongest test of any new residential concept is ultimately whether the market responds. HassConsult says Enaki’s completed first phase, comprising 440 apartments, has reached 92 per cent occupancy, with some fully occupied unit types maintaining waiting lists. The developer is now extending the concept into its next phase.
Enaki Forestside, centred around a 23,000-square-foot private forest, is being developed with additional fitness, social, work and wellness spaces. According to HassConsult, the project had sold 50 per cent of its homes within four months of launch.
For a property market in which developers routinely compete on location, finishes and price, such figures offer an interesting proposition: that the experience surrounding a home may increasingly influence the decision to buy or rent it. It also points towards a broader change in the developer’s role.
Rather than simply designing, constructing and selling residential units, HassConsult’s model incorporates market research, development, design, pricing, marketing, sales and continued property management. Elevate by Hass is intended to add another layer; resident experience.
Designing for human connection
The shift raises an important question about the future of residential design If community and wellbeing are becoming part of the value proposition, developers have to consider them from the earliest stages of planning rather than treating them as additions once construction is complete.
That means thinking about how people move through a development, where they naturally encounter one another, what spaces encourage interaction and what activities can bring residents together. For Sakina Hassanali, Co-CEO and Creative Director at HassConsult, that consideration needs to become part of the design brief itself. “The design brief of the future has to include human connection as an outcome. What draws people out of their homes and keeps them coming back cannot be left to chance. It must be designed, programmed and sustained.”
That philosophy has implications beyond luxury residential developments. As Kenya’s urban population grows and lifestyles become increasingly digitised, the challenge of creating liveable communities will become increasingly important across different segments of the housing market. The question is whether developers can create these experiences affordably and sustainably enough to make them accessible beyond premium developments.
A new layer of competition in property
The emergence of wellness and social connection as elements of residential development could also change how developers compete. For years, location has been one of the most powerful differentiators in real estate. Developers have also competed through architecture, unit sizes, security, parking, landscaping and increasingly sophisticated amenities. The next frontier may be experience.
A development that gives residents access to fitness, wellness, dining, workspaces and community events creates a proposition that can potentially extend beyond the physical apartment. It may also influence retention.
For landlords and property managers, a resident who develops social connections and routines within a development may have a different relationship with the property than one who simply occupies a unit. This makes resident experience relevant not only to sales but also to occupancy, retention, property management and long-term asset value. That is perhaps the most significant commercial implication of the model.
Kenya’s residential market enters a new conversation
HassConsult’s expansion of the Enaki model comes at a time when Kenya’s property sector is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Buyers and tenants are more informed, digital platforms have changed how properties are marketed and expectations around convenience and lifestyle are evolving.
The traditional proposition of “a good house in a good location” is consequently facing competition from more holistic concepts of urban living. The emergence of wellness real estate adds another dimension to that conversation.
Globally, developers are increasingly considering how buildings and communities affect physical wellbeing, mental health and social interaction. In Kenya, the concept remains relatively young, but the underlying consumer behaviors are already visible.
People are working remotely or in hybrid environments. Entertainment and commerce increasingly happen through phones. Social media occupies a growing share of people’s daily lives. The physical spaces around people therefore have an opportunity to provide something the digital world cannot fully replicate: face-to-face connection.
HassConsult’s strategy ultimately points to a broader question for Kenya’s property industry: what exactly are people buying when they buy a home? The answer has traditionally been measured in square meters, location, finishes and amenities.
But as residential development evolves, the answer could increasingly include something less tangible, the experiences and relationships that the environment makes possible. Enaki’s model is an early attempt to test that proposition commercially.
Its occupancy levels and early sales performance provide encouraging signals for HassConsult, while the expansion of Elevate by Hass suggests the company sees resident experience as more than a one-off feature of a single development. The bigger test will be whether the model can be replicated across different developments and, ultimately, whether the market is willing to place a measurable premium on connection, wellness and community.
For now, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: the future of residential real estate may not be defined solely by where people live, but by how that place makes them live.
