MOVEMENT OF COMPANIES AFFECTS PROPERTY MARKET

MBABANE – Property valuers say the property market has not performed as well as it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Propperty valuer Paul Malichi was responding to questions from this publication, regarding the latest performance of the property market in the country and the implications of movement of companies from Mbabane to Ezulwini. Malichi said the property market, like any other market has been negatively affected by the precarious events that have taken place in the past three years, not only in Eswatini but worldwide.  Speaking about the movement of companies from Mbabane to Ezulwini, Malichi said such has impacted the Mbabane market negatively, more so especially in the commercial space - offices in particular.

The property valuer said the implications of companies moving to Ezulwini, as already alluded to have mainly been noted in opening up or increase in the office space. He said this has forced landlords to reduce or maintain current rentals, in order to keep or attract tenants. It is worth noting that a number of office spaces in the capital city were currently vacant, due to the fact that some businesses have closed shop while some have relocated. As reported in the past weeks, about 133 companies have been deregistered. Data collected from the office of the Registrar of Companies, shows that the said companies were removed from registers after the office had reasonable cause to believe that the companies were no longer carrying on business.

relocated

Meanwhile, large corporates like the FNB, Eswatini Revenue Services (ERS), and MTN Eswatini have since relocated to Ezulwini, where they have built their own state of art head offices. Eswatini Communication Commission (ESCCOM) is also building yet another state of the art building, that is now taking shape and soon to be complete.  Malichi said this movement has also impacted the residential sector to extent, in Mbabane, especially as people have vacated rented houses to move closer to Ezulwini location. When asked if it was still viable to invest in property, Malichi said:“I would say yes, but in the long-term as landed property is the only known market with a hedge against inflation and other negative economic effects.”  He added that however, it does not look promising due turbulence in financial markets and related markets. He said the high cost of borrowing was an impediment to many, especially for short term loans with high installments.

Malichi added that information sourced from the Deeds registry confirmed the drastic decline in number of transfers. From January to June 2023, deeds of transfer for the first quarter of 2023/2024 were 175. It was reported that the number of transfers had decreased when compared to the same period in the 2022/2023 financial year. Deeds of transfer were recorded at 357 in the first quarter of 2022. This indicated a decline of 182. 

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