Angola’s Housing Sectors: Understanding Market Dynamics, Performance and Opportunities
Angola has become one of the world’s fastest urbanising countries with 62.5% of the population living in cities. The capital area around Luanda is now Africa’s fifth largest metropolitan region. Luanda generates two-thirds of the country’s GDP and it is home to over a third of its population.
A significant portion of the national budget has been dedicated to the National Urban Housing Program with the aim of transforming Angolan cities and meeting the post-conflict housing deficit by building one million houses. The National Urbanism and Housing Programme was officially approved in 2009 through Resolution 20/09. The Programme aimed to benefit an estimated 6,000,000 people across the country. The target of one million homes was initially broken down into:
- 115 000 dwellings – intended for the public sector (11.2% of the total);
- 120 000 dwellings – intended for the private sector (12% of the total);
- 80 000 dwellings – intended for cooperatives (8% of the total); and
- 685 000 dwellings – intended for self-built homes (265 000 rural and 420 000 urban homes, or 68.5% of the total).
Carried out in Luanda, Angola in 2015, this study assesses the results to date of the National Urban Housing Program in engaging four key sectors of the housing economy, the State, the private sector, housing cooperatives and owner self-builders. Key cases discussed include; The Kilamba New City Project (State Financed New-Town Housing), Project Nova Vida (Public-Private Partnership), Lar do Patriota (Cooperative Housing) and The Case of Zango (Incremental Housing).
The study also discusses current national policy and how this affects housing and urban development, formal and informal real estate markets and how this influences investment into housing in Angola. In addition, government budget allocations and trends against the backdrop of housing needs in Angola is presented as well as access to credit by the formal banking sector and obstacles to lending.
