ABSTRACT
The paper aims to ascertain perspectives of Financial Institutions (FIs) regarding Affordable Housing (AH) developments in Harare. Through an exploratory qualitative design, the paper set out to explore risk/return criteria among FIs that invest in AH. The study found that densified AH and stands (subdivided land) are a high priority investment among FIs. FIs avoid land without title deeds as it is not possible to link it to investors who demand to see the value of land, they are to invest in. FIs that engage in construction of AH use conventional building standards and materials to avoid risk of low-quality AH. The conclusion is that a focus on rental AH rather than homeownership alone is a solution to AH inadequacy. Rental AH supply can be used by institutional investors to channel funds into the much-needed AH developments via the listed secondary markets, a new Zimbabwean investment vehicle.
