Prices of residential houses in Kampala Metropolitan Area have increased by 5.6 percent over the last one year, a latest report by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) indicates.
Great Kampala Metropolitan Area, according to UBOS, covers divisions of Kampala City and some urban areas of Wakiso District.
According to the UBOS report for the last quarter of the financial year 2020/2021, which ended on June 30, 2021, the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) for Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) stood at 111.13 per cent, up from 105.19 per cent for the last financial year.
RPPIs, also called House Price Indices (HPIs), are index numbers measuring the rate at which the prices of residential properties (flats, detached houses, terraced houses, etc.) purchased by households are changing over time.
Dr Chris Mukiza, the UBOS Executive Director, while releasing the report on Thursday, 01 July 2021, said the rise was mainly due to prices of properties in Nakawa areas that increased to 13.4 percent for the year during the FY 2020/2021 compared to the 4.0 percent that was registered for the FY 2019/2020.
In addition, prices in Wakiso area increased to 7.3 percent during the FY 2020/2021 compared to 2.2 percent registered in the FY 2020/2021.
The RPPI for the quarter ending Q4 2020/2021 increased to 8.2 percent compared to minus 0.5 percent recorded in the quarter ended Q3 2020/2021. The increase was mainly due to residential properties in Kawempe and Rubaga divisions that increased to 10.4 percent compared to minus 8.9 percent registered in the previous year.
In addition, residential properties in Kampala and Makindye areas increased to 14.4 percent compared to 7.6 percent registered for the previous year.
The development is a contrast from the first quarter of the financial year, which ended on June 30, 2021, which had indicated a drop in prices of the residential properties due to the impact of the Covid-19 induced lockdown for 2020.
According to data released by Ubos under the Residential Property Price Index for the first quarter of the 2020/21 financial year, which ended in September 2020, property prices in the real estate sector, especially rentals, fell by an average of 10.5 per cent with Kampala and Makindye being the worst hit.
The increase for this last quarter is attributed to improved economic activity between February and May 2021. However, with another Covid-19 induced lockdown in the country, prices for the next quarter are bound to fall.