The Sunday Mail
Over the past few months, rentals for accommodation and the prices of housing properties have been going down with some flats in the Avenues area in Harare going for months without tenants. In both the low and high-density areas, landlords have been forced to reduce their rentals almost by half.
This continuous decline has left lodgers smiling while the landlords are wondering what exactly is happening in this sector.
Urban development experts say the decline is a result of the gripping economic liquidity crunch while others say the current trends show that the US dollar is now gaining its true value.
Accommodation agents say while many forces like the liquidity crunch are affecting the rental fees, the increased availability of housing stands has reduced demand and thus caused the decline. Many people are now opting to stay at their incomplete structures than stay at overpriced cottages or flats.
“Rentals and property prices have been going down since last year due to a number of factors but also because a lot of people have been getting stands and building their own houses, so that has reduced demand,” said Mr Robert Chirika, an accommodation agent.
“You will find out that renting some flats was costing about $700 per month last year but this has since come down to around $500 or even $450 in some cases. The same applies to suburbs in high-density areas, prices have been going down.”
Applying the forces of demand and supply, one would conclude that the decline of prices is a result of more affordable accommodation, but some experts think otherwise.
Civic groups and urban development experts believe that the declining prices are an indication of lack of proper regulation in the sector as even the reduced rentals and prices are still beyond the reach of many. The housing backlog which officially stood at 1,2 million in 2012 is believed to be still soaring as shortage of affordable public rental housing units in most urban areas persists.
This worsening situation has resulted in multiple land disputes, emergence of dubious housing co-operatives and the mushrooming of informal settlements.
Harare is said to be now running out of land while the situation is believed to be worse in other cities such as Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare.
Harare Mayor Councillor Bernard Manyenyeni admitted that the housing situation in Harare has not improved much with the shortage of land now being a serious challenge.
“The issue of national housing is still very much a top priority because our housing situation has not improved very much,” he said.
“The housing co-operatives initiative has helped us a lot but it still has got its limitations with regards to accountability of the co-operatives in their formative stages as well as the quality of the finished product.”
Clr Manyenyeni said there may be a need to change the housing model as land for housing is becoming limited.
According to Government figures, close to 3 000 housing co-operatives were registered last year with about 1 500 allocated land, but their contribution could be affected by the shortage of land.
Land scarcity has led to suggestions by some sections of the society to resettle peri-urban farmers to create space for housing.
Zimbabwe Institute of Regional and Urban Planning president Mr Percy Toriro was, however, sceptical about the idea of resettling peri-urban farmers saying there is need for balance between development and food security.
“From an environmental sustainability point of view, Harare is certainly running out of space to expand, and it is not only land for residential stands but other purposes such as commerce, recreation and so on,” he said.
“We should, however, be careful with the idea of resettling peri-urban farmers to make way for housing land because there should be balance between development and food security. There are certain foodstuffs which should be produced closer to the city.
“Some of these farms are on fertile soils and they should be spared if ever we are going to resettle peri-urban farmers.”
Mr Toriro said building high-rise buildings co uld be a better solution to land scarcity.
“What should be done now is to encourage and promote vertical rather than horizontal development, high-rise apartments could be the solution to that, tackling land scarcity while providing accommodation at the same time.”
Research also shows that peri-urban farms act as green belts which dictate the limits of an urban settlement.
It is believed that resettling peri-urban farmers promotes urban sprawl, leading to unnecessary long distance travelling as the residential developments would not have been accompanied by viable economic activities to support these newly developed settlements.
Researchers say there is a strong link between housing and employment and the moment this fact is ignored it will be hard to create sustainable urban settlements.
Harare Residents’ Trust director Mr Precious Shumba said the land that is currently available is not being used wisely.
“There is acute shortage of housing, the housing backlog is ballooning every second. There is underfunding in the housing sector and housing waiting lists are not being followed by Harare City Council,” he said.
“The Government should now prioritise the construction of high-rise structures or flats. There is a lot of space but the land is not being utilised efficiently,” he said.
Mortgage housing, which in many countries is a feasible solution for housing development, is, however, very expensive for many people in Zimbabwe.
Old Mutual’s multi-million-dollar low-cost housing project in Harare’s Budiriro suburb is one such scheme which has been deemed expensive as the housing units have been costing between $22 000 and $27 000. In an economy where most people are not formally employed and a lot of people are earning a salary below the poverty datum line the figures are just too high.
Mr Shumba said: “It is the profiteering culture entrenched in Zimbabwe since the much-pronounced economic meltdown of 2008 that banks and building societies have been charging high rates.”
A lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, Department of Rural and Urban Planning, Mr Nyasha Mutsindikwa, said the absence of multilateral and bilateral support which in the past helped to provide affordable loans and grants could also be the other reason why the rates are high.
“Most people are not formally employed making them ineligible to qualify for mortgages,” he said.
“Also the currency that we are using makes matters worse because there are also external forces which determine these rates. The absence of multilateral and bilateral support which in the past helped to provide affordable loans and grants can also be the other factor pushing the rates up.” The housing sector seems to be lacking regulation despite the launching of the National Housing Policy in 2012 and this has resulted in a myriad of problems from shortage of accommodation to land disputes.
