Expatriate housing in Kampala has in recent times undergone a major trend shift especially within the likes of Kololo and similar high end locations around Kampala.
Specifically, regarding standalone houses for rent, we are seeing much fewer of them coming up on the market and this is partially explained by the several high-rise developments that are cropping up all over the place.Â
Multiple high-rise projects have been built all over suburbs like Kololo, Nakasero and Naguru, but most notably in Kololo. Many of these are built as condominium projects, however, there is still a number of them that have been built for rental purposes exclusively and most of them were previously beautiful one-acre plots with standalone houses which were occupied by single-family expatriates working for the diplomatic corps and other international NGOs.
The perks associated with this type of housing have alot to do with space and privacy that is very much cherished by diplomatic officials, as well as families with young kids. This has now become a luxury in a sense owing to multiple high-rise projects that have replaced the formerly standalone houses.
Many landlords have either sold off, or entered into partnerships with big property developers to build multiple apartments. In the latter case, the landlords take a portion of the apartment units under a condominium arrangement, proportionate to the would-be market value of the land.
It must be noted that many have found this style of ownership arrangement more beneficial in the long run since it increases their rental income and diversifies their risk as they are now dealing with different properties/tenants and all they have to do is pay the property management fees to a mutual third party to take charge.
This model is very hard to beat, and thus has resulted into a clear shortage of standalone housing that was a preference for certain expatriate categories in the past.
High ranking officials like ambassadors, MNC directors and other diplomats tend to require the kind of space offered by standalone houses as it is always ideal for hosting events, as well as being fully in control of their security and privacy.
Verdict!!
As a spill over effect, the standalone market in these locations has been affected in two major ways;
A couple of them have these high-rise structures, towering over them, which renders them slightly less marketable owing to security & privacy concerns.
Secondly, the current standalone houses that are not yet affected by neighboring construction work are almost occupied most of the time as the existing tenants will try to hold onto them for as long as they can. Many of them retain them within their organizations for incoming staff members to take over from their predecessors. Even then a good number of these landlords will be ready to cash in at an appropriate time in future as developers are ready to make attractive offers.
On the other hand, there is significant demand for apartments, especially among the younger expatriates, who prefer newer projects that tend to have less maintenance issues while being cheaper at the same time.
Kololo, having been traditionally a single-family residential community, has now effectively transformed into a high-rise multiple-apartment style suburb that benefits largely from its proximity to the CBD with good access to most amenities.
It remains to be seen where this trend will be headed in future and how this might alter the dynamics of expatriate housing within Kampala. Shall we see the other high-end suburbs of Kampala like Muyenga and Munyonyo becoming even more attractive to expatriates in search of a stand-alone community experience? Your guess is as good as ours at CCImpex.
Should this be the case, the stand-alone rental prices are almost guaranteed to shore up in these locations hopefully with further improvements in infrastructure aimed at easing the traffic congestion in the city.
Food for thought!!
