Economy
Addis is Building Homes Nobody Can Afford
BirrMetrics · 2 hours ago · Read the Full Story on BirrMetrics
AI SUMMARY
Addis Ababa's rapid housing construction boom masks a growing economic crisis where rising property prices and poor subsidy targeting leave ordinary residents unable to afford homes.
- The Addis Ababa City Administration reported on October 29 that 496,971 homes had been constructed and handed over in the preceding five years, with over 4,200 delivered in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
- A January 2026 study by Addis Ababa University researchers Yilakachew Azanaw Kumie and Heyaw Terefe found the condominium programme had produced 344,282 units against an updated 2013 registry of approximately 970,000 applicants.
- The researchers identified substantial inefficiencies in subsidy targeting where larger apartments received disproportionate benefits while smaller units were relatively disadvantaged, and suggested a targeted structure could reduce total subsidy requirements by about 48 percent.
- A 2024 study of 1,152 condominium residents showed that outer-city and intermediate locations imposed heavier affordability, transport, and accessibility burdens on lower-income residents.
- The study concludes that urban policy must evaluate housing success based on median prices, buyer incomes, financing terms, waiting periods, and proximity to jobs rather than aggregate construction totals alone.
Related
National Bank Says It Has Not Decided to Exit Gold Purchasing System
Wazema · 6 minutes ago
Ethiopia, DHL Sign Deal to Boost Coffee Export Capacity
Capital Ethiopia · 4 hours ago
Addis Ababa Recognized by World Bank for Long-Term Debt Financing and Wins Shanghai Award
The Reporter · 8 hours ago
If Inflation is Under 15 Percent, Why Have Tomato Prices Nearly Doubled?
BirrMetrics · 2 hours ago