CAHF Release Tanzania 2015 Housing Price Data

The Center for Affordable Housing Finance (CAHF) in Africa recently presented new data about housing and construction in Tanzania and the rest of Africa.

CAHF has been collecting data on house prices, construction costs, and income across Africa for the past 6 years.

The data is being explored as it relates to affordability and access to housing in Africa.

Tanzania House Prices and Sizes

In 2011, the cheapest house built by a private developer in Tanzania was 65 square meters (m2) at the cost of USD16,130, or USD250 per m2.

In 2015, the same house would cost USD20,992, or USD323 per m2, representing an increase of 30%.

For comparison, in Tanzania’s neighboring country Rwanda, the cheapest house built by a private developer was 125m2 at the cost of USD34,247, or USD274 per m2.

Tanzania Housing Rental Costs

The average housing rental price in Tanzania is USD616, compared to USD797 in Rwanda.

The rental price of a low-income single-room housing in the urban areas of Tanzania is USD26, USD188 for middle-income 2–3 bedrooms housing and USD2,250 for high-income 3–4 bedrooms housing.

Tanzania Housing Purchase Costs

The average housing purchase price in Tanzania is USD422,500. For a middle-income 2–3 bedroom house, Tanzanians would pay USD90,000.

A high-income 3–4 bedroom house in the urban areas of Tanzania would cost USD1.6m.

Tanzania Cost of Cement

In 2011, the cost of a 50kg bag of cement in Tanzania was USD9. In 2015, the price fell to USD7.

Accordingly, it would cost 12.4% of the average urban annual income in Tanzania to afford the cement needed to build a 40 square meter house.

In Rwanda, the price of a 50kg bag of cement was USD15 in 2011 and fell to USD13 in 2015. Accordingly, it would cost 21.9% of the average urban annual income in Rwanda to afford the cement needed to build a 40 square meter house.