BY TAURAI MANGUDHLA
BILLIONAIRE property market investor, Ken Sharpe projected a big sector boom on Friday, as he gave a rare glimpse into his Zimbabwean strategy.
The Zimbabwean magnate said growth in the next 12 months would be underpinned by steeper demand for spacious accommodation on the domestic market and elsewhere, as people readjust their living patterns in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Responding to Standardbusiness during a zoom call, the tycoon, who has recently poured hundreds of millions of dollars into high end real estate gems in Harare, declared that Zimbabwe would be among the right places to invest.
“I think it’s positive, it’s very buoyant,” Sharpe told Standardbusiness.
“Generally, if you look around the world with what’s happening today, I develop in several markets outside of Zimbabwe and Africa (and) we have seen a trend where there has been a rise in property prices anywhere from 10% to 30% over the past two years. People do not want to live in confined spaces anymore. A lot of the smaller spaces people used to live in are no longer acceptable because of what happened during the pandemic. People wanted to get outdoors. They need balconies, they need yards and so people have definitely moved up in terms of investing in property. So, I project that the future (in the next) 12 to 13 months is going to be a bull run,” he added.
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The businessman’s Zimbabwean interests span from West Properties to Augur Investments and Sunshine Development, a joint venture between his company and the City of Harare.
He said the market remained lucrative despite rising construction costs by as much as 50%.
“I don’t think property prices will go backwards,” Sharpe said.
“In fact, it is a buyer’s market right now. I will definitely say whoever is not into property needs to get into property urgently,” the billionaire added.
Asked why he continued to invest in big projects running into hundreds of millions of United States dollars,
Sharpe said he was not taking a short position on Zimbabwe.
“Firstly, for me, I am a Zimbabwean,” he said.
“I am passionately loyal to my country and I want to see Zimbabwe as a better place. When I see Zimbabwe, I don’t look at it in the context of today or five years or ten years’ time. I look at Zimbabwe in the context of what it will be in 50 years’ time or even 100 years,” Sharpe told Standardbusiness.
His latest project is the US$100 million Warren Hills golf estate development, which is expected to take off when the planning phase is completed in about 12 months.
He said beyond the existing challenges, the future of Zimbabwe’s economy remained bright.
“Our view is a very long term one so that’s what gives me the confidence to stay put. Of course, there are challenges and the uncertainty with the United States dollar is the biggest one you have raised and so as long as government policy, the framework they put in place remains clear, investors will be able to project into the future (because) people don’t make investment without tenure projection. They need to know there is going to be certainty in them getting back their US dollar so I think the government has done well with creating the auction system where there is some supply as well as some stability,” Sharpe said.