The prices of land and rental fees in Mbarara City have doubled since its elevation to city status in the last two years.
Mbarara is one of the seven settlements that attained city status on July 1, 2020, others being Fort Portal, Mbale, Arua, Jinja, Masaka and Lira.
Real Estate dealers and house brokers believe many opportunities such as the growth of the business, increase in population, and Mbarara city being the entry point to the Western and southwestern region of Uganda have led to the increase of property prices .
Herbert Tushabe, the head of operations at Amity realtors notes that the price of a plot in a distance of 5 to 10 kilometres from the city centre has more than doubled within the past two years and also its availability is hard.
He says in some areas in a distance of 5 to 10 kilometres a plot of land measuring 100*50 feet that used to go for 3.5 million Shillings now costs between 10 to 15 million shillings. Whereas land in places about 15 kilometres from the city centre that used to cost Shillings 2 million shillings now costs Shillings 10 million.
Tushabe says a commercial plot of 25×50 feet which used to cost 50 million Shillings now costs between 100 and 200 million Shillings and a residential plot measuring 30 x 40 feet now costs 50 million Shillings.
Tushabe explains that the increase in land prices is a result of high demand as many people who live within the city are making plans to build and settle in the suburbs when the development of the city picks pace.
Alex Turyamusiima, land and real estate broker says the increase in property rate in Mbarara has affected the prices of land in the neighbouring districts noting that in greater Bushenyi and Ntungamo an acreage of land now goes for between 25 and 30 million shillings up from 10 million, in Isingiro and Kiruhura it goes for between 10 to 20 million shillings.
However, landowners and brokers say the lack of Industries and infrastructure in form of rental houses has somehow affected the would be huge sales of land.
Tushabe says much as Mbarara is developing fast in terms of business making it the commercial hub for the region, it is facing a slow infrastructural development. He notes that investors are scared of constructing rentals because the occupancy population is small arguing that the day population in Mbarara is higher than the one that sleeps around.
He says people prefer going back home after the days’ work, blaming this on the closer neighbouring districts like Isingiro, Rwampara, Bushenyi, and Sheema that are within a distance of 30 Kilometers.
Agnes Musiime, a real estate dealer also blames the slow infrastructural development in Mbarara on the lack of Industries that would attract a population to stay noting that the available employment doesn’t guarantee a person to sleep in Mbarara.
Like Musiime, Tushabe says the rate at which people are buying land and prices doubled has not matched the developing rate, noting that in the last 20 months they have sold over 1,500 plots of land measuring a total of 1,000 acres which have since not been developed, blaming this on the cost of developing land, the price increase of construction Materials and the low occupancy rate.
Turyamusiima says that because of the low occupancy rate, rental charges have also since increased, currently, a single self-contained room for rental goes for 150,000 up from 100,000 shillings and a double self-contained goes for 250,000 shillings up from 200,000.
Anthony Asiimire, a surveyor, attributes the increase in land prices to the many people born in the western region who had concentrated on life in Kampala but are now returning, noting that the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown opened the eyes of many to develop back home.
