eBusiness Weekly
Enacy Mapakame
Financial services group FBC Building Society, is planning to develop over 800 high density residential stands in Harare’s Kuwadzana area, as it consolidates its market share and positions itself as one of the leading mortgage providers in Zimbabwe.Without giving finer details, FBC Building Society non-executive director Marah Hativagone, said the mortgage lender was looking at a target of 858 stands in Kuwadzana and a few others for the high-end market.
“We are exploring possible developments in Kuwadzana and Glen Lorne,” she said at the handover ceremony of developed houses under the Masotsha Ndlovu Phase Five project comprising of 16 state of the art housing units.
“FBC Building Society is also engaged in negotiations for possible land acquisitions in strategic cities across the country. The building society remains a dominant player in the properties market,” she said.
A total of 88 housing units were developed under the Masotsha Ndlovu project.
This is in addition to 40 upmarket residential units being developed in Harare comprising of 24 apartments in Greendale and 16 in Avondale.
Last year the Building Society developed 64 housing units for the market. Of these, 48 were duplex apartments in Mt Pleasant while 16 were in Greendale.
Since 2009, FBC has delivered over 900 housing units to the market across the country for all markets.
In 2013 alone, the Building Society constructed and sold 462 housing units across the country encompassing low, medium and high density schemes.
Hativagone said the FBC group, through its building society was geared to continue on its mandate of providing affordable housing solutions to the market, despite the obtaining economic challenges.
This, she said would also see the group maintain its position as leading mortgage service provider.
“Regardless of the challenges, FBC Building Society remains committed towards delivering relevant, low cost, value driven, customer focused and immaculate high, medium and low density properties across the nation with the clear objective of playing our small part towards reducing the country’s housing backlog, currently estimated to be standing at 1,3 million,” she said.
FBC’s efforts come at a time the property industry has been affected by an increase in the illegal settlements in urban centres without requisite infrastructure.
Inadequate offsite infrastructure is also seen as a major constraint to housing development, as most local authorities are not able to establish new viable settlements, as this would strain existing bulk infrastructure.
As such, Government is putting measures to enhance the sector and ensure availability of affordable housing solutions through public private partnerships.
The national housing backlog is estimated at 1,3 million with Harare alone requiring about half a million units.
In line with this challenge, Government last said was mobilising $182 million for housing projects, according to the 2018 National Budget.
