In Zambia, households spend 40% to 50% of their monthly income on rentals against a minimum allowable expenditure of between 28%-30% on housing. Building costs of homes range between US$60 000 and US$100 000 for a three to four bedroom high cost home and can then be sold for between $80 000 and $150 000, with monthly rentals for this type of home ranging between $800 and $1, 000. A two to three bedroom middle-income home sells for between $65 000 and $100 000 and can fetch monthly rentals ranging between $350 and US$500.
Luxury holiday homes in Lusaka are now the focus of foreign investors; with popular projects in Mass Media (the area close to the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation) and Roma grabbing most of the attention thanks to the high rental returns that landlords are fetching from letting their properties out.
Seeff Zambia is active in the holiday home market - both with regard to local and foreign buyers and tenants - and in our experience transactions in this section of the market have steadily increased year on year.
The year 2016 was peculiar. While it began with great expectations for the property market, the political climate and economic uncertainty in the first half of the year due to the general elections had a negative impact. In the second half of 2016 the market gained momentum again with an uptick in buyer's demand and this is reflected in the number of transactions concluded in 2018.
The town of Siavonga - spread out along the northern bank of the Lake Kariba - is known as the 'Riviera of Zambia' and offers a host of options to local and foreign visitors. Business people from other towns invest in holiday homes here and because of that the local Zambian community is prospering and utilising the new business opportunities as a result. Siavonga is not only exquisitely beautiful, but it is also a popular choice for business meetings or outings. This in turn could assist in the growth of local catering, hospitality and creative firms.
