No roads, no value? Expert advice to property owners

No roads, no value? Expert advice to […]

No roads, no value? Expert advice to property owners Seeff Properties Zambia Associate Property Manager Lukas Simpanzi has revealed that properties that are dotted in areas that lack infrastructure are hard to market.

Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times (ZBT), Simpanzi said that the market trends indicate that most clients prefer urban and prime areas either for leasing or buying.

A reliable mobile network, road, water, and electricity are key for most clients, and properties in such areas are always in demand, with the national housing deficit standing at 1.5 million units.

“The market is very low because you can list a property and it takes one year or months to get off the market, sometimes we as agents would encounter clients who insist on viewing the place despite prior knowledge. “The market is very low because you can list a property today and maybe hear one inquire after a year or some months; you tell them the location and complain about either the network or the lack of water, roads, and other amenities,” he added.

 He added that developers must be stringent over the kind of property that is built in such areas to avoid a struggle in selling. At the same time, they should consider reducing the price of the property to meet the demands of the area and community at large.

 “The only way is to reduce the price of the property. Imagine having a property in Shang’ombo and wanting a K10 million; we usually tell them to reduce the pricing so that clients get attracted to buy, believing that after some time the area can develop and the value increases, it has to be reduced by 50%.”

 On the other hand, the expert noted the land speculation practice common in the market, which is simply withholding empty or unimproved land purely in the hope that its price will go up over time. Stating that such a practice is workable, citing several examples of land that was selling at K3,000 but now costs K400,000.

 “There are places like Mean Wood Ndeke that were just bushes, but now things have changed; properties are selling at K3,000 for the 30 by 40, but now you can find them at K400,000. It’s a good practice, especially since there is a rapid development across the country.

Article by Samuel Mutale