Buying Properties during holiday season in Zimbabwe

By Mutsa Chikede

One of our readers asked the best timing period for buying a property in Zimbabwe, he wanted to know the wisdom of buying a property over the holidays. Well, Zimbabwe is a country of holidays and every holiday celebrated has a story connected to it. 

Most families start something new or make a new investment during holidays. Likewise, shops and big brands have the biggest and craziest deals to please their customers and boost their sales. Several reasons make holidays one of the best times of the year to invest in Zimbabwean real estate.

Why buy during holidays?

As soon as holidays start, the real estate industry gets abuzz with activity. While developers start aggressively promoting their projects, buyers also start exploring the different properties matching their budgets and specifications.

Some of the prominent reasons that one must make property investments during holidays include:

Zimbabweans believe that holidays bring them together, those in the diaspora those in urban areas, and those in rural areas come together and celebrate.  

It is good to make big investments that can bring good returns in the future in consultation with the family. Many people will buy and have an opportunity to showcase their properties to their relatives and have a small gathering to celebrate. All the hard work of family members during the year is showcased in these holiday periods.

During the holidays, there will be plenty of time to view houses and make a decision. I find home buyers who buy during holidays making decisions faster than those who buy any other time, why?

They buy as a family so they make the decision together, they don’t have any other work-related issues pestering them so they only focus on the buy, and most importantly they have immediate feedback from members of the extended family.

The other advantage is that, as the diaspora brings in cash from all over the world, real estate sellers come up with better cash price options and great deals, buyers might get the deals that work ideally for them and which they may not get the rest of the year.

Buyers will always get more time from their agents, I don’t go on holidays, and I enjoy my holidays after because I work when my clients are free.

I realized that I give more professional advice to clients I serve during a holiday than any other time because every business is closed and my streams of doing things are only limited to the transactions. I am more relaxed and tolerant with clients. That is critical to any buyer.

Property developers offer a unique host of freebies and heavier discounts for cash purchases during the holidays.

Furthermore, since the selling competition during holidays is quite intense because every seller wants to utilize the high cash circulation to liquidate, one might get better and flexible payment options for the properties they are looking for. You must always remember that the holiday mood always motivates people to sell and to discount.

The number of property projects that are launched during holidays is more than any other time of the year. During this time of the year, one can get anything ranging from affordable housing to highly luxurious dwellings.

Property developers and seller just like musicians look for the opportune time to release their properties because a high uptake of their schemes at the start of the sale means a good cash flow for them.

They will not want to release a property to the market and take longer than expected before it’s taken, that will be bad for that property and its reputation as a good investment.

Many sellers will be willing to discount their properties because they will be faced with university fees in January and August, and those with children in private schools will be looking for fees for the New Year and term.

Most sellers will be in a position to listen to buyers and will be very flexible in negotiation. December holidays are very critical and decisive, any silly mistake from the seller will see him languish in emotional pain if they fail to meet university fees for children abroad. This is the best emotional state of mind buyers want on the negotiation table.

There are also other reasons why Zimbabwean families buy properties during holidays.

By doing so, families embrace the assurance that their adults will have the dignity of a place to live in during their Golden Years and that their children will grow up in a secure environment that they will eventually inherit. Your family can help you to transact, and even your small children can visit the property with you, thus giving them very fond memories of the property.

This helps the family in putting down permanent roots, often after years of perceiving itself helplessly at the mercy of unpredictable forces. The appreciating value of the purchased property also stands as a firm fortress wall between the family and financial setbacks. Owned property is a tangible asset against which a loan can be procured in an emergency.

Show off

This is a myth which needs to be debunked. To understand the real basis of this traditional thinking, one needs to grasp the key concepts behind the Zimbabwean holiday period – together and merry-making, showing off at townships, new cars, nice food, etc. But remember, it is a well-known fact that one can judge a country’s economy based on its real estate market.

However, the traditional correlation between housing and personal security, wealth creation, and financial growth is far more important, yet far less discussed when it happens during holidays.

It is only when people’s housing needs are adequately addressed that they can turn their attention and resources towards securing the family’s future.

The generation of financial resources to sustain the family over the long haul can only begin in earnest when the family’s housing needs are adequately met.

Until then, there is a disturbing sense of incompleteness and insecurity. It is only when the family is secured in a self-owned home that actual wealth creation can truly begin.

Given all these factors, it makes perfect sense that Zimbabwean families prefer to buy their homes during a period of merry-making. The human spirit’s quest for higher ideals can only begin when it has a safe harbour to anchor in.

Perhaps it is appropriate to recognize this deeper significance of buying a home during the holiday period – and to understand that it is less about show-off than about freedom.

We hope the above-mentioned tips have given you a clear picture of the favorable time to invest in properties. With the onset of festivities soon approaching, I suggest you start your hunt now.

Mutsa Chikede is a Property Negotiator with TEREZIM FORTRESS PROPERTIES and you can send feedback to cmutsauri@gmail.com, Whatsapp 0718205562,