Rent Is Falling In Oil-Exporting African Countries As Expats Exit
The Angolan capital of Luanda is still the world’s second most expensive city for expats after Hong Kong, but rent for office space fell almost 50 percent in the past two years in the region’s top oil producing country, Bloomberg reported.
More than 20 percent of new office buildings in Luanda are empty.
“Luanda still has the highest office rents in Africa, but demand has virtually ground to a halt,” said Peter Welborn, the London-based head of Knight Frank’s Africa unit.
Monthly prime office rent in Luanda fell from $150 a square meter in 2015 to an average of $80 per square meter this year, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. In Abuja, rates dropped 45 percent to $33 a square meter. Lagos saw rent fall 21 percent to $67. Johannesburg, which is net importer of oil, saw office rents drop 23 percent, while Dar es Salaam held steady.
Rent has fallen for office space and luxury homes in Nairobi, where there’s an oversupply following an exit of expatriates, Business Daily reported.
The price of crude has fallen more than 50 percent since mid-2014. Nigeria, the region’s second-largest oil producer after Angola, is in recession.
Industrial space rent is rising in Kenya
Rent in Nairobi malls has stagnated on increased supply. Rent for prime office has dropped 20 percent to $16 per square meter a month over the past two years. But Kenya is short of high-end industrial space.
