‘Convert CDB offices into flats’
LIVINGSTONE MARUFU
Property firms should convert their office buildings in Harare’s central business district (CBD) into residential flats owing to high void rates, an executive in the sector has said.
The property owners in the capital’s CBD are feeling the pinch as they battle unprecedented increase in vacant commercial properties resulting in property owners’ incomes dwindling significantly.
Integrated Properties CEO, Mike Juru, told Business Times that the property owners should liaise with the authorities to turn the deserted property into residential properties.
“We have no CBD to talk about as blue chip companies have moved out of town citing congestion, lack of parking spaces and theft as major reasons for leaving the heart of the town . This has dealt a major blow to property companies as more voids are now evident in the city,” Juru said.
“The heavyweight property owners should seek approval from the council to convert all deserted offices into flats.”
He said a number of houses were converted into commercial spaces in suburbs near the city centre such as Eastlea, Milton Park, Belvedere, Alexandra Park and Newlands among others, hence the demand for residential space has soared.
“People in those areas have nowhere to go hence need accommodation in town through the conversion of those CBD buildings into flats,” he said.
Analysts said most property firms in Zimbabwe including Zimre Property Investments and Old Mutual, among others, have been hit by the latest exodus from the CBD and have since changed their investment strategy.
Their focus is now on shopping malls in suburbia which have now become the most sought-after investments for corporations.
Integrated Properties warned that Harare’s CBD could soon turn into a ghost town amid fears that the void rate could rise above the current 60% in the coming months.
The report said tenants continued scaling down operations reducing space occupied in a bid to manage business costs.
“The Zimbabwe office sector continues to underperform compared to all other sectors. The sector is characterised by high void rates over 60% for office CBD and low rental yields,” reads the report in part.
Some informal firms have converted homes into offices in order to survive Covid-19 effects and high rentals in town.
According to the Integrated Properties property market report, demand for office space in the city and leafy suburbs continues to go down due to the fact that subdued operations have made it difficult for firms to run smoothly.
The property market report said once this phenomenon has become entrenched in people’s lifestyles there may be no going back to the old operations.
Property experts said the overall prospects for the office sector will not be clear until the virus is eradicated and when normal working patterns emerge.
Technological innovations mitigating the traditional, direct physical contact will replace human interventions in the sector which will see the reduction of manpower in property services, experts say.
