Vantage Properties’ latest Housing Sector Report, released last week, indicates that 100% of landlords in Tlokweng and Mogoditshane have built multiple units to accommodate low income earning people who are either working in Gaborone, nearby areas or studying in colleges.
Studies by Statistics Botswana previously found that the price of land in Gaborone is five to seven times more expensive than the surrounding villages, leading to rising population density in satellite villages. “The landlords showed that income from rentals has been supplementing them and would choose to increase more units if awarded a chance to,” Vantage Properties’ researchers said. “The landlords indicated that they were encouraged to build multiple units as the population was increasing and also projected that the industry was lucrative with potential to offer them a stream of monthly income,” added the findings. Researchers noted that the market for rental housing was “very high” particularly for one to two bedroom apartments. Landlords were cashing in on the “multi-res” with each unit ultimately contributing to healthy earnings at the end of the month. “The increase in the population also creates a good market for one-roomed accommodation in parts of Tlokweng and Mogoditshane,” the report reads. “An average room is currently fetching from P700 to P1,000 and normally landlords have an average of five rooms at their plots available for rentals. “This implies that monthly, one can pocket an average BWP4, 250 from rentals alone.”
