Residential market- Asmara, Eritrea
We were instructed to undertake a review of the residential market in relation to the leasing of a high-end villa in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.
I flew from the UK to Addis Ababa and then on to Asmara. The planes were pretty much full and a good number of persons and families travelling to Asmara had boarded at Heathrow with me. Visitors to Asmara are almost all Eritreans returning home or visiting family.
Whilst one might expect it to be very hot, the climate in Asmara is in fact quite mild, being the sixth highest capital city in the world. As is normal in this market, the house that I visited had no air-conditioning, but did have open fires (not necessary at this time of year but it can get quite cold).
The city is relatively quiet and totally hassle free in my experience. Eritreans are friendly and helpful. Traffic is light and it is easy to get around using local taxis, although finding places can be a challenge even with a local, as is normal in a lot of African markets.
There are some unusual aspects to visiting as a foreigner to Eritrea, which used to be relatively common in Africa, but which one comes across rarely nowadays:
Credit and debit cards are not accepted so it is cash-only. I bought US Dollars with me and made sure that they were unmarked and pristine, but still got caught out by a rule that banks in Eritrea will not accept notes dated pre-2006.
The place is also extremely challenging from a communications point of view. The internet is very weak and unstable even in the best hotels. International SIM cards do not work in the country, and there is no 3G network.
There is little tourism in Asmara, but many that come here do so for the city’s architecture, as there are some iconic and exceptional art deco and futurist buildings dating from the period when the Italians were in Eritrea. The old Fiat garage is a beautiful thing to see, and I have included a photo that I took of it below.
In relation to the assignment and the real estate market there has been little construction in Asmara since before the Ethiopia-Eritrea war. Around the new Chinese Embassy to the north of the airport there are hundreds of apartments in blocks where construction has stopped and apparently abandoned.
There is very little on-line regarding the market, and no leasing or sales boards to identify availability when you are on the ground. Much of the market is word-of-mouth and there are no estate agent offices to visit, although there are individuals that operate as brokers at street level.
I used a combination of local business contacts, intermediaries and basically everyone sensible who I met to learn about the market and identify availability.
My target areas were the best residential locations in town comprising Tira Volo and Campo Bolo, where pricing for the highest quality residences is as follows:
4-5 bed villa with good-sized garden $4,000 /month
3 bed villa with limited outside space $2,500 /month
3 bed apartment (e.g. Alpha Building, Blue Building) $800 /month
Availability of water on-site and water storage capacity is a big issue in Asmara, and this is one of the reasons for the relatively low pricing of apartments (quality also being a factor). When you view properties, owners are always keen to explain the below-ground and above-ground water capacity.
We provided the client with a full report on the market including a review of the practices relating to leasing which are quite prescriptive (for commercial as well as for residential), and we will be moving forward now to a transactional phase for this project.
For further information please contact James Whitmee: jwhitmee@emc-re.com
Fiat Tagliero in Asmara - stunning futurist former garage
