Unlocking Ethiopia's Urban Land and Housing Markets

The Ethiopia Urban Land Supply and Affordable Housing Study (EULSAH) aims to inform policy decisions addressing urban land and affordable housing in Ethiopia. It addresses key urbanization issues currently being faced in the country’s towns and urban centres, including the unprecedented level of demand for urban land and housing in the country’s rapidly growing towns and cities, the need to supply urban land efficiently and effectively, and the provision of adequate and affordable shelter.

Some of the proposals from the research included: the need for the Government of Ethiopia to enable market to work by shifting from a government-led, supply driven land and housing delivery system, to a market delivery system; market segmentation into sub-markets to ensure the delivery of affordable housing for all income levels; and the expansion of the country’s housing finance system to increase local and foreign investment, encourage market growth, and extend development, construction, and end-user finance. The report also highlighted a need for a paradigm shift towards instituting a new housing sector governance that is inclusive and consultative, with the state playing a facilitative role, deploying resources to address market failures.

The report also highlighted the lack of reliable data on land and housing markets, and the implications on market development. Noting the necessity of market information in shaping investor and household decision making, the study proposed the need for government needs to invest in management information systems and develop program monitoring and evaluation methodologies.

The study was produced with advisory from the World Bank for the Government of Ethiopia (GoE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Urban Development and Construction (MUDC) Ethiopia and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation.