Zim house prices jump over 5 years

Zim house prices jump over 5 years
Published: 29 August 2017
The lowest average price of a new house (42 square metres) built by a private developer in Zimbabwe jumped to $18 000 from $10 000 between 2010 and 2015, according to findings of a survey by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa.

CAHF said it had been collecting data through consultants since 2010 on prices for newly built houses on the continent and evidence at hand not only showed what is possible, but reflects what is currently happening and being delivered by private developers.

The lowest price of newly build houses built by private developers between 2010 and 2015, for house sizes ranging 40sqm to 100sqm averaged $5 800 and $68,783, CAHF said.

"The housing affordability story is influenced by the price of building materials, key among which is the price of cement. Here we asked; how much does a bag of cement cost.

"How has the price been changing over time? If it takes an estimated 35-40 bags of cement to construct a 40sqm house, what proportion of a household's income would be required to afford this," the CAHF said.

CAHF said it would cost about 5,8 percent of the average annual income to afford the cement needed to build a 40sqm. According to the survey by CAHF, a 50 kilogramme bag of cement cost $12 in Zimbabwe, from about $10 in 2010.

The price for the 50kg of cement peaked at $14 in 2014 and averaged $12 between 2011 and 2013. A country's regulatory environment also influences the construction sector.

CAHF's survey also included global rankings relating to the ease of doing business, with a low ranking implying that the regulatory environment was conducive to operation of a local firm.

On the basis of a report produced by the World Bank, CAHF presented three parameters relating to dealing with construction permits, registering property and ease of doing business

"In 2015, Zimbabwe was ranked 185 in dealing with construction permits and 114 in registering property. The overall ease of doing business rank was 153," CAHF noted.

The data gives us a rough indication of the range of house prices and sizes being provided by the private sector, as well as some insights on affordability across the continent.

CAHF is also in the process of collecting additional data on the scale of construction, as well as the relationship between supply and demand of housing in African countries.
- the herald
Tags: House,

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