'Local authorities driving up property prices'

 Local authorities are partly responsible for Zimbabwe's soaring property prices due to excessive demands and bureaucratic inefficiencies that are driving up development costs, a leading property executive has said.

Speaking at the CEO Africa Annual Roundtable 2025, Patience Patongamwoyo, the chief executive officer of Seeff Properties, warned that red tape and unrealistic requirements from local councils were discouraging investors and inflating costs across the real estate sector.

"Local authority engagement is vital for driving smart investment in Africa, but it often faces significant challenges," said Patongamwoyo. "The bureaucratic barriers can slow decision-making, deterring potential investors. Additionally, many local authorities lack the capacity and resources needed to effectively manage sustainable development projects."

She noted that many local councils across Zimbabwe were financially strained and had increasingly shifted the burden of infrastructure development onto private property developers.

"So when you get a development permit, they want you to put up a road, which, in essence, they are supposed to be putting," she explained. "Apart from constructing roads within my development, I am being forced to put up additional roads for local authorities. This just pushes property prices to the consumer."

Patongamwoyo said these additional costs - coupled with limited government support and cumbersome approval processes - had made Zimbabwe's property market one of the most expensive in the region.

"People talk about why property prices are very high in Zimbabwe. Yes, there is a shortage, but these are some of the drivers that push prices up - because we are being forced to do certain things that local authorities should be doing," she said.

She pointed to Botswana as a model example of how local authorities could raise funds without transferring costs to developers or buyers.

"I was in Botswana last week. The Botswana Stock Exchange did a presentation where they have initiatives to assist local authorities to fundraise so that they put money into their own investments," she said. "Obviously, there is a way they can recover their money. I think, as Zimbabwe, we also need to be looking at how these local authorities can be resourced, because right now they are pushing all the costs onto the end user - the consumer."

Her remarks come as Zimbabwe continues to grapple with a severe housing shortage and skyrocketing urban land prices, despite government efforts to reduce the cost of doing business and attract investment.

Experts warn that Africa's population is projected to double by 2050, posing major challenges for housing and urban planning, but also offering vast opportunities for sustainable development - provided governments and local authorities modernise their financing and governance systems.