Zimbabwe's depressed economy pushes rentals down

Zimbabwe's depressed economy is pushing urban rentals down as most tenants are moving away from office space in the CBD resulting in huge property voids.

This comes after a Knight Frank Africa Report 2015 released this week revealed that Harare is now one of the cheapest cities in Africa in terms of commercial and residential rentals.

Harare, which was ranked 32 out of 35 cities, is only expensive compared to Tunis, Nouakchott and Blantyre.

Office space rentals in Harare were found to average $10 per square metre, retail space $25, while residential rentals for a four bedroomed executive house were found to be in the region of $1,500 per month.

This compares favourably with Angola's Luanda - ranked as the most expensive city in Africa- with office rentals averaging $150 per square metre, retail $120 and rentals for a four-bedroomed executive house costing $21,000 per month.

Johannesburg was ranked 12 in the survey.