• Login
  • Register
Nairametrics
  • Home
  • Exclusives
    • Financial Analysis
    • Corporate Stories
    • Interviews
    • Investigations
    • Metrics
    • Economy
    • Nairalytics
  • Markets
    • Currencies
    • Cryptos
    • Commodities
    • Equities
      • Company Results
      • Dividends
      • Stock Market
    • Fixed Income
    • Market Views
    • Securities
  • Sectors
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Company News
    • Consumer Goods
    • Corporate Updates
    • Corporate deals
    • Corporate Press Releases
    • Energy
    • Entertainment
    • Financial Services
    • Health
    • Hospitality & Travel
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate and Construction
    • Renewables & Sustainability
    • Tech News
  • Business News
    • Budget
    • Public Debt
    • Funds Management
    • Tax
  • Financial Literacy
    • Career tips
    • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Billionaire Watch
    • Profiles
  • Opinions
    • Blurb
    • Op-Eds
    • Research Analysis
  • Recapitalization
    • Access Holdings Offer
    • Fidelity Bank Offer
    • GTCO Offer
    • Zenith Bank Offer
  • Home
  • Exclusives
    • Financial Analysis
    • Corporate Stories
    • Interviews
    • Investigations
    • Metrics
    • Economy
    • Nairalytics
  • Markets
    • Currencies
    • Cryptos
    • Commodities
    • Equities
      • Company Results
      • Dividends
      • Stock Market
    • Fixed Income
    • Market Views
    • Securities
  • Sectors
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Company News
    • Consumer Goods
    • Corporate Updates
    • Corporate deals
    • Corporate Press Releases
    • Energy
    • Entertainment
    • Financial Services
    • Health
    • Hospitality & Travel
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate and Construction
    • Renewables & Sustainability
    • Tech News
  • Business News
    • Budget
    • Public Debt
    • Funds Management
    • Tax
  • Financial Literacy
    • Career tips
    • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Billionaire Watch
    • Profiles
  • Opinions
    • Blurb
    • Op-Eds
    • Research Analysis
  • Recapitalization
    • Access Holdings Offer
    • Fidelity Bank Offer
    • GTCO Offer
    • Zenith Bank Offer
Nairametrics
No Result
View All Result
Home Sectors Real Estate and Construction

Top five things buyers should know when purchasing land in Africa

Estate Intel by Estate Intel
July 2, 2022
in Real Estate and Construction, Research Analysis
Top five things buyers should know when purchasing land in Africa
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

As Africa’s real estate sector continues to grow, land acquisition especially has seen increased investor interest from both domestic and foreign buyers. According to land matrix, investors ranging from China, UK, Ukraine, Gulf region and even Mozambique have collectively transacted in over 2.7 million land deals recorded across Africa since the year 2000.

Notably, countries such as Mozambique, Ethiopia, Ghana and Zambia have featured at the top of the pyramid with the largest amount of land sold to foreign investors as indicated in the figure below.

RelatedStories

No Content Available

While land is extremely cheap in the majority of African countries, the informal nature of the land system sometimes impacts on the land ownership process. In the majority of the rural areas, for example, land sales are mainly done by the owners, family members or chiefs with documentation rare in some places.

In this article, we highlight five key things buyers need to know when purchasing land in African countries.

Conduct due diligence

This involves the physical verification of the existence of the land as well as conducting a land search to check for any encumbrances on the land such as potential mortgages or disputes on the said land.

Compare the price with the surrounding areas

Typically, land value is expected to increase over time. However, anecdotal evidence in multiple cities suggests that speculation on land and additional factors such as money laundering have resulted in the value of land in some areas being skewed. As a result, investors are likely to invest in overvalued land that will ultimately impact their return on investments.

Estate Intel’s Land Dashboards, seek to address this challenge by providing you with an overview of land values over time in select areas across multiple countries.

Understand the Zoning 

Depending on the location of the land, zoning laws might present future obstacles for you. This is because they often restrict the usage which might affect the course of actions that you would like to fulfil on the purchased land. 

Check for provision of ancillary infrastructure

As part of large-scale acquisitions or within master-planned developments, an investor should check if utilities are accessible or if there are any existing issues in terms of the supply of utilities such as water and electricity. They should also consider long-term plans around the developments such as proposed government developments that might result in compulsory acquisition.

Understand the nature of tenure

Land tenures across Africa vary significantly. In countries such as  Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Tanzania the state is considered the sole property owner. As such, individuals cannot own land per se, but can purchase a 99-year lease for it. On the other hand, in Kenya, rural land is largely freehold in nature while urban land is leasehold in nature. In other countries such as  Zimbabwe, foreign investors are all but prohibited from making new purchases of land, you must lease the land from a Zimbabwean citizen or at least co-own it with him/her. While in others, like South Africa, the land ownership process is straightforward for expats to own real estate there.

Overall, consulting with the right team is critical to making the right investment. You can view a range of the different service providers across multiple African cities here.

We love your feedback. Let us know your thoughts on the things buyers should know when purchasing land, by sending us an email at  insights@estateintel.com


Follow us for Breaking News and Market Intelligence.
Tags: land in African countries
Estate Intel

Estate Intel

Related Posts

No Content Available
Next Post
FUGAZ investors lost N15 billion

FUGAZ investors gain N25 billion combined during the week

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Emple
nlng
first bank
Zenth Bank








DUNS

Recent News

  • Crude becomes Nigeria’s third largest import as local refineries seek foreign oil 
  • GUINEA INSURANCE, ELLAH LAKES lead gainers as All-Share Index dips 0.15% 
  • Charles Tyrwhitt wishes all Fathers a Happy Father’s Day!!!

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

crude oil

Crude becomes Nigeria’s third largest import as local refineries seek foreign oil 

June 17, 2025
Weekly Stock Update: Nigerian Exchange Group record growth w-o-w, up by 0.48%

GUINEA INSURANCE, ELLAH LAKES lead gainers as All-Share Index dips 0.15% 

June 17, 2025
  • iOS App
  • Android App
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Markets
  • Sectors
  • Economy
  • Business News
  • Financial Literacy
  • Disclaimer
  • Ads Disclaimer
  • Copyright Infringement

© 2025 Nairametrics

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Exclusives
    • Financial Analysis
    • Corporate Stories
    • Interviews
    • Investigations
    • Metrics
    • Economy
    • Nairalytics
  • Markets
    • Currencies
    • Cryptos
    • Commodities
    • Equities
      • Company Results
      • Dividends
      • Stock Market
    • Fixed Income
    • Market Views
    • Securities
  • Sectors
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Company News
    • Consumer Goods
    • Corporate Updates
    • Corporate deals
    • Corporate Press Releases
    • Energy
    • Entertainment
    • Financial Services
    • Health
    • Hospitality & Travel
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate and Construction
    • Renewables & Sustainability
    • Tech News
  • Business News
    • Budget
    • Public Debt
    • Funds Management
    • Tax
  • Financial Literacy
    • Career tips
    • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Billionaire Watch
    • Profiles
  • Opinions
    • Blurb
    • Op-Eds
    • Research Analysis
  • Recapitalization
    • Access Holdings Offer
    • Fidelity Bank Offer
    • GTCO Offer
    • Zenith Bank Offer
  • Login
  • Sign Up

© 2025 Nairametrics