Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed property developer Mashonaland Holdings Limited (Masholds) expects its investment property portfolio to expand beyond the US$94,7 million reported during the year ended December 31, 2025, buoyed by new residential developments, strategic land acquisitions and plans to unlock value from its vast land bank.
The group’s investment property portfolio stood at US$91,6 million during the year ended December 31, 2024 following an open market valuation.
This demonstrates significant resilience in a property sector roiled by tightening liquidity conditions.
Board chairperson Grace Bema told businessdigest the company was accelerating residential projects in Harare’s Greendale suburb and in the Midlands town of Shurugwi as it positions to benefit from higher demand for housing.
“The investment property portfolio was valued at US$94,7 million in December 2025, and it is definitely expected to increase because we have a lot of land banks in our portfolio that we are looking to develop this year,” Bema told businessDigest.
Among Masholds’ flagship developments is a proposed apartment complex in Greendale, comprising 30 semi-detached double-storey residential units. It is earmarked for resale.
Keep Reading
- Inaugural Zim investor indaba highlights
- Stop clinging to decaying state firms
- ZB explores options to tackle inflation
- Zim operations drive FMB Capital
Construction has already commenced following the completion of statutory approvals and other regulatory processes.
The property giant is also pushing ahead with the Impali residential stands project in Shurugwi, which involves the development of 445 medium-density residential stands.
Surveying and pegging have already been completed, while off-plan sales are expected to commence this quarter.
“One of the major projects is in Shurugwi, where we are about to start servicing stands. We also have projects in Greendale,” Bema said.
Masholds is also scouting for additional land banks from local authorities as part of an aggressive expansion strategy aimed at broadening its development footprint.
“We have several projects coming up focused on developing our land banks, while also looking for more land to purchase from different councils, including Harare City Council and councils outside Harare,” she said.
Bema said the projects were aligned with government efforts to reduce Zimbabwe’s estimated two-million-unit housing deficit, which continues to drive demand for residential developments across urban centres.
To support the expansion programme, Masholds has budgeted at least US$10 million in capital expenditure this year.
“The capital expenditure for this year could be around US$10 million,” Bema said, adding that funding would be drawn from internal cash flows, equity, loans and pre-sales arrangements.
“We also get some of our capital from pre-sales. That is basically selling before you have started developing. So, you use money from those sales to develop,” she said.
The company is also recalibrating its leasing strategy in response to structural shifts in Zimbabwe’s commercial property market, where corporates are increasingly abandoning traditional central business district offices for suburban locations.
Recent market reports by property consultancy Knight Frank indicate that vacancy rates in parts of Harare’s CBD have surged to nearly 60%, as firms migrate to suburban office nodes such as Borrowdale, Avondale, Eastlea, Milton Park and Belvedere.
Bema said Masholds was adapting to the changing environment through more flexible leasing models designed to attract and retain tenants.
“Instead of a company maybe leasing a three-year lease, which is the standard, what we are doing is we are looking at flexible leasing,” she said.
Despite the ambitious pipeline of projects, Bema identified liquidity shortages as the single biggest challenge confronting property developers.
“The main challenge right now is definitely liquidity,” she said.
“The banks are struggling to be liquid, and obviously as property developers we rely more on bank loans or credit. So, I would say that is the biggest challenge we are facing as an industry.”
Across Southern Africa, property developers are increasingly pivoting toward residential projects as rapid urbanisation, housing shortages and demographic growth reshape demand patterns.
In South Africa, developers are battling elevated interest rates, weak consumer spending and rising construction costs, which have weighed heavily on commercial real estate activity. However, affordable housing and mixed-use developments continue to attract investment.
Zambia and Botswana are experiencing growing demand for medium-density housing, driven by urban migration and expanding middle-income populations.