Nairobi, Aug. 3 -- For decades, Kyumbi has been little more than a landmark on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

Motorists know it as the place where long-distance trucks queue for hours, buses stop for meals, and travellers take a break before branching off to Machakos town or continuing to the Coast.

The settlement has long been defined by trailers, roadside eateries, open-air markets, budget lodges and a mosque where hundreds of truck drivers stop to pray before resuming their journeys.

Today, however, the transport stop is reinventing itself as one of the fastest-appreciating property markets on Nairobi's eastern edge.

Driven by its strategic location on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, proximity to Machakos town and growing interest linke...