Rising demand pushes property rates higher

Real estate experts have attributed the rising properties prices to increasing demand, rising unregulated estate agents and high cost of construction, which are throwing the market off-balance This comes at a time housing is becoming a challenge, especially in urban areas where demand increased by 15 percent in 2025, according to data from property management firm, Knight Frank. In an interview on Wednesday, Knight Frank managing director Desmond Namangale said for the past three years, property demand has been rising following the post-Covid-19 reopening of businesses, which pushed up demand for residential properties. He said: “With that, demand for residential properties has risen by about 15 percent driven mainly by expatriates and local professionals seeking housing in cities such as Lilongwe and Blantyre, suggesting the emergence of a middle class with increased purchasing power.” However, Namangale, who said prices of commercial properties rose by 10 percent in 2025, also noted that the property prices are elevated because of high cost of construction and rising unregulated estate agents who take advantage of the situation.

He said: “Over the years, the industry has witnessed price increases on property to alarming levels, especially in residential property sector where there is a huge demand for housing against dwindling supply. “This has been exacerbated by the unregulated estate agents who take advantage of the desperate housing seekers and play around with the people’s desperation. Furthermore, market values are being equated to replacement costs due to high costs of construction; hence, distorting the market information.” Namangale said the real estate sector is being affected by price increases despite being a cornerstone of the economy by providing infrastructure for all other sectors, driving massive job creation and acting as a major wealth store for individuals.

Meanwhile, the continued rising of property prices has created fear that the real estate assets, especially in urban centres cannot be appropriately valued, leaving buyers and tenants exploited with the burden of paying inflated prices. In his analysis titled ‘Bursting property pricing bubble’, Vincent Kaunda, a civil engineer observed that Malawi is currently facing a deepening housing crisis as evidenced by rising demand, limited supply and escalating property prices. He said: “Alarmingly, these prices soar beyond the properties’ actual economic valuations.

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“The traditional market principle of a willing buyer and a willing seller risks becoming distorted, exposing consumers to exploitation amid worsening economic stability.” Kaunda said one of the factors include lack of policy that makes mandatory disclosure of property valuation, which makes information only available to property valuers and few industry players. “However, this assumption frequently does not hold on Malawi’s property market where many buyers, particularly first-time homeowners and middle-income earners, lack access to professional valuation data,” he said.

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