Land and property owners in Harare suburbs aim to maximise their returns
By Tadiwa Jery
“Ninety percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate”. These are the words spoken over half a century ago by Andrew Carnegie, one of the world’s most successful businessmen. Even to this day, real estate has proved to be a reliable source of passive income which many landowner aspires for.
According to Zimstat, Harare population is estimated to be over 2 million, making it the most populated city in Zimbabwe. This has created a high demand for accommodation which has resulted in housing companies building apartments in different suburbs and communities to cater for the housing needs.
With the retail market prospering, some of the suburban landowners started subdividing their land for reselling and others have sold their land and property to housing companies who end up building flats on the purchased land.
Although land subdivision seems like a lucrative choice to make, it has been a topic that has divided a number of landowners who wish to maximise on their real estate resources in Zimbabwe. With a lot of formalities to pay attention to and the need for expert help from real estate agents, most landowners have become reluctant towards letting go a part of their land.
In Harare, the majority of landowners already have cottages that are offered on the market for rentals. This provides most landlords with a reliable monthly source of income. Being more affordable than apartments, cottages are the first kind of accommodation that cost conscious tenants look for if they are looking for a place to live.
Reselling land to housing companies has also become a possible option for landowners in suburbs like Marlborough, Avondale and Mount Pleasant. With more than 4 residents in Marlborough reselling their homes to housing companies who have built apartments in a space of less than three years, the remaining landowners are seeing this as an opportunity to earn a lot of money and rebuild their lives elsewhere.
The real estate industry in Zimbabwe has been providing more value to all the market players. With brighter economic prospects, this industry is yet to award landowners with better opportunities on how they will earn more money from their land and properties.
