Leonita Mhishi
THERE is an old rule in real estate that Zimbabwean investors would do well to remember: before asking where land is cheap, ask where people are going.
It sounds simple, but it may be one of the most important questions shaping Zimbabwe’s property market today.
People create demand. Businesses follow customers and workers. Roads and infrastructure open new corridors. Schools, shopping centres, clinics, warehouses and offices then follow. Before long, yesterday’s fringe can become tomorrow’s sought-after address.
Zimbabwe’s property map is changing because the country itself is changing. The 2022 Population and Housing Census showed Harare with a population of about 2,43 million, with the province entirely urban. ZimStat has since prepared population projections for Harare through to 2042, underscoring the importance of population trends in planning for housing and infrastructure.
For property investors, the message is unmistakable: tomorrow’s opportunities will increasingly be found where people, businesses and infrastructure meet.
Harare provides the clearest example. For decades, Zimbabwe’s capital revolved around the Central Business District. Offices, banks, shops and government departments were concentrated there. Being close to First Street or Samora Machel Avenue was commercially valuable. But that model is changing.
Knight Frank data reported in 2025 put vacancy rates in the Harare CBD at 60 percent, while Bulawayo stood at 40 percent. Ageing buildings, congestion, security concerns and expensive parking are encouraging businesses to consider suburban alternatives. The same report noted that major banks had relocated, were relocating or were planning head offices in areas such as Highlands, Newlands and Borrowdale.
That is not simply a property story. It is an economic-geography story. The centre of gravity is shifting.
A business owner does not necessarily need to be in the traditional CBD anymore. If clients can reach an office more easily in a suburban location, if there is parking, security, modern infrastructure and nearby retail, the attraction of the CBD weakens.
This explains why suburban office parks, mixed-use developments and convenience shopping centres are gaining ground.
A 2025 property-market overview cited strong activity along major arterial roads including Borrowdale Road, Churchill Avenue, Second Street, ED Mnangagwa Road, Bulawayo Road, Alpes Road and Samora Machel Avenue.
The lesson for investors is powerful: sometimes the most valuable piece of land is not in the centre of town. It is along the road taking people somewhere. This is also why the growth of areas such as Pomona, Mount Pleasant, Borrowdale, Greendale and the wider northern corridor deserves close attention.
But there is a second trend investors cannot ignore — densification. Harare is running out of the luxury of endlessly spreading outward. Land close to established economic activity is becoming more valuable, while demand for modern housing remains strong.
Cluster developments and apartments are therefore appearing in places once dominated by large detached homes.
This is being driven partly by changing consumer preferences. Younger Zimbabweans are increasingly interested in manageable homes, security, modern amenities and locations closer to work and services. Developers are responding with cluster houses, gated communities and apartment projects.
But densification is not without danger. Residents in parts of Harare have raised concerns that cluster developments are increasing population pressure without corresponding improvements in roads, water and sewer infrastructure. This should concern investors as much as residents.
A beautiful cluster development is not automatically a good investment. If roads are poor, water unreliable and sewer systems overloaded, the location can eventually lose its attractiveness.
Infrastructure, therefore, is becoming one of the most important property indicators in Zimbabwe. This is where emerging areas become particularly interesting.
Harare South, for example, is attracting attention from developers looking beyond traditional residential markets. TSL has announced plans for a 73-hectare mixed-use development in the area, targeting about 1,900 residential stands alongside commercial stands and community amenities.
Such projects illustrate how the property market can create new economic nodes.
A new residential community does not simply create houses. It creates customers. Those customers need supermarkets, schools, pharmacies, restaurants, transport, banking services and recreational facilities. Entrepreneurs then follow them.
The property investor who identifies that chain early can potentially benefit before the area becomes fully established.
But the same principle applies to industrial property. Zimbabwe’s informal economy is increasingly influencing where commercial property demand emerges. A Zimbabwe Stock Exchange property-market overview noted that warehousing and logistics properties generated rental yields of roughly 12 percent to 13 percent in 2024, with even stronger performance around informal trading hubs including Southerton, Waterfalls, Mbare, Chitungwiza and Highfield.
That statistic tells an important story.
Zimbabweans may not always shop in conventional malls or formal retail centres, but they still consume goods. Those goods have to be imported, stored, distributed and transported.
Consequently, warehouses and logistics facilities located close to trading activity can become more valuable than some conventional office buildings.
This is one reason property investors should stop thinking about real estate as simply houses and offices. Zimbabwe’s changing economy is creating demand for logistics, storage, flexible retail space and mixed-use developments.
The diaspora is another force reshaping the map. Zimbabweans living abroad sent significant amounts of money home in recent years, and property remains one of the preferred destinations for those funds. The ZSE property-market overview reported that diaspora buyers accounted for 40 percent of demand for Harare properties in 2024.
That money is not distributed evenly.
It tends to seek locations perceived as secure, accessible and capable of generating rental income or retaining value. This has helped sustain demand for properties in established northern suburbs and newer developments.
But there is a danger in assuming every fashionable location is a guaranteed winner. Property markets can punish investors who buy purely because everyone else is buying.
A road can be promised and delayed. A shopping centre can remain empty. Water infrastructure can fail. Planning approvals can become contentious. A supposedly prime development can become isolated from the economic activity needed to sustain it.
The real property hotspot is therefore not merely a place where stands are selling quickly. It is a place where several forces are converging ― population growth, employment, transport, infrastructure, commerce, services and, increasingly, lifestyle.
This is why Zimbabwe’s smaller cities and growth corridors should not be ignored. Bulawayo’s industrial revival, for instance, could have property consequences extending well beyond factory gates. Manufacturing creates employment, employment creates households, and households create demand for housing, retail and services.
Beitbridge offers another lesson. Its strategic position as a gateway for regional trade means that logistics, accommodation, retail and commercial property can benefit when infrastructure and cross-border activity expand.
The future of Zimbabwean real estate will therefore not be determined only by what happens in Borrowdale or the traditional CBDs. It will be determined by movement. Where are young families going? Where are companies moving? Where are factories expanding? Where are roads being upgraded? Where are schools being built? Where are warehouses appearing? Where are people willing to travel less to work, shop and live? These questions may prove more valuable than simply asking how much a stand costs.
Zimbabwe’s property market is moving from the old idea of “location, location, location” to something more dynamic: movement, movement, movement.
The investor who watches people closely can see property demand before it becomes obvious on an estate agent’s billboard.
A new road carrying more traffic may be a signal. A school filling up may be a signal.
A supermarket opening in a previously quiet neighbourhood may be a signal. A factory hiring hundreds of workers may be an even bigger one. Property wealth is rarely created by bricks and mortar alone. It is created by understanding what those bricks will eventually sit beside.
Zimbabwe’s next property hotspots may therefore not be the places making the most noise today. They may be the quiet edges of the city where infrastructure is arriving, businesses are following and families are beginning to settle.
For the Zimbabwean investor, the rule is simple. Follow the people. Follow the jobs. Follow the infrastructure. Eventually, follow the property.
l Mhishi is the Principal Registered Estate Agent at HSP REALTY and can be reached on +263 772 329 569 or via email at leonita@hsp.co.zw