Mark Muhumuza
Monday, 6 September 2010

KAMPALA, UGANDA - The real estate and housing market in Uganda is booming. But des[pite this the cost of houses remains high.

Housing in Uganda is now mainly filled with luxurious villa's and expensive housing which means that the shortfall in the sector will not reduce.

Around Kampala, real estate companies have seemed to target high-end customers, leaving out the middle class whose wage earnings are low. For example National Housing apartments in the suburbs cost between Ushs80m($40,000) and Ushs72m($36,000).

The recently completed Spring Hills estates in Lubuwa, about 5kms on the Kampala - Entebbe road cost about Ushs300m($150000). These rates are not affordable to average Ugandans even if they took out a mortgage on the house.

"In order to make housing affordable, we must see that government comes in and removes VAT on imported construction material. This adds on that extra cost. On the selling side, the government has removed VAT but something must be done on the cost of our input materials," said Mitul Jobanputra the Managing | More »