Zambia has the highest mortgage rate in Africa

According to a check by the Zambian Business Times (ZBT), Zambia is among the countries in Africa with the highest mortgage rate, between 15% and 35%. Zimbabwe has the highest rate, up to 50%, Angola 20-24%, and Malawi 21-24%, reflecting a bigger challenge that many people face in terms of acquiring homes.

Locally, the 15-35% can be attributed to the slow progress of closing the gap in the 1.5 million deficit. Experts have urged for a trickle-down of the rate to allow more Zambians to own their own homes. Commenting on the matter, Ronzad Properties Managing Director Aaron Zulu said the high rates have also pushed many people to build at a slow pace due to the costly building materials.

This has also led many to resort to renting for a longer period of time, because either building or buying is overly expensive. Revealing that in Lusaka most buyers of already finished houses are either retirees or people in the diaspora.

“The rates are quite high compared to other countries in Africa and other parts of the world. We have countries like Latvia, where the rate is 5%, which encourages people to buy or build homes. Imagine if we had such a lower rate; many Zambians would own homes,” he added.

Zulu, who is an expert in the property market, revealed that only a few Zambians are interested in acquiring mortgages, not just the rate but also the conditions attached to the activity.

Matters of collateral and offering title deeds to property are some of the strict conditions that deter many, especially the aspect of losing out Incase of default.

Article by Samuel Mutale