As with everything in Zimbabwe noone can say exactly whats happening. The property market is the same. It has been a sellers’s market for a while and it still is. Sellers continue to hold on to their dear properties hoping for better prices. Sellers in diaspora are also playing a cruacial role. I have spoken to some people who just want to sell. The problem is most of these sellers want the money in hard currency which I can understand while buyer are opting for paying in currency. I have noticed that even buyers in diaspora prefer to pay in local currency. Its a bit more reassuring to them.

The buyers’s misery is also aided by lack of morgage financing and high interest rates. Mortgages are so expensive now and the lenders are just so cautious. Sellers are also not prepared to wait that long for the legal formalities to complete. they just want to sell the house and get the cash tomorrow.

The propblem in Zimbabwe is statistics is very difficult to get hold of so the ofter called ‘expert’ opinion is just really what they think not backed up by facts. Inmost countries even South Africa you can get information online about how may properties have been sold and how much they have been sold for which is also useful in doing valuation.

It is very difficult to give a valuation on a property because of hyperinflation and also very little statistics available. ZIMRA does have a lond way to go to modernise their system and until then it will really all be expert opinion with no propert backing stastistics.

One thing is clear that most properties have been incerasing in price even in real terms. I have even been reading in some international publications where Zimbabwe is being spotted as a good investment. I think when the inflation and economy stablised we will get swamped with investors. When that will be i dont know maybe 5,10 or even 20years but seasoned investors are prepared to wait for that. Its not for the faint hearted.

Share This