Recently, I came across an article that caught my attention.
It suggested that a growing number of executive apartments in Lusaka are sitting empty.
As someone who spends a lot of time talking to Zambians in the diaspora about property investment, I found that very interesting! After all, luxury apartments have long been seen as one of the most desirable property investments in the city.
So I sat down with Goodson Ngambi of Broadleaf Urban Properties to understand what is really happening in the market.
What emerged from our conversation wasn’t a story about a collapsing property market. It was a story about changing demand.
The Luxury Market Isn’t Dead, but it’s Under Pressure
According to Goodson, the challenge facing the luxury market isn’t necessarily a lack of interest in property.
It’s a mismatch between supply and demand.
Over the last five to ten years, many investors have developed high-end apartments and executive homes, particularly in established areas such as Kabulonga, Olympia and other prime neighbourhoods.
At the time, this made sense.
The economy was performing differently. The expatriate market was stronger. International organisations, NGOs and foreign businesses were major tenants for these types of properties.
But, of course, markets change.
Today, fewer expatriates are coming into the country, some organisations have scaled back their operations, and the United States policy changes have resulted in the pool of tenants willing or able to pay premium rentals has become smaller.
The result?
More luxury units competing for fewer tenants.
That’s not the same thing as saying luxury property has no future.
It simply means the market is no longer as forgiving as it once was.
Where Is The Demand?
This is where I found our conversation particularly interesting.
While luxury landlords are struggling to fill units, demand remains strong elsewhere.
In fact, Goodson suggested that some of the strongest rental demand in Lusaka is for properties renting below K15,000 per month.
Many investors spend years dreaming about building a large executive home or luxury apartment complex because it feels like the pinnacle of property investment.
Yet the largest pool of tenants is often looking for something much more affordable.
Why?
Because that’s where the market is.
Young professionals. New families. People starting their careers. Growing households.
These groups make up a much larger segment of the population than executives looking for premium accommodation.
As investors, we sometimes focus on what we would like to own ourselves rather than what the market actually needs.
How Luxury Landlords Are Adapting
One of the most practical insights Goodson shared was how some luxury property owners are responding to the slowdown.
Instead of relying solely on long-term tenants, many are turning to short-term accommodation models.
In other words, they are operating more like Airbnb hosts than traditional landlords.
For some properties, this can generate better occupancy and stronger returns than waiting months for a long-term tenant willing to pay premium rent.
It’s not the right strategy for every property.
But it highlights an important principle.
Successful investors adapt.
Markets evolve and property owners who are willing to adjust their strategy often perform better than those who insist on doing things the way they’ve always been done.
The Biggest Mistake Investors Make
Perhaps the most valuable lesson from our discussion was surprisingly simple.
Avoid building a huge mansion as an investment property.
Many of us grew up associating success with a large standalone house. But if your objective is investment rather than personal enjoyment, you need to think differently.
A massive home requires a tenant with a massive budget. And those tenants are relatively few.
A more practical approach may be to develop several smaller units on the same property. Instead of looking for one tenant willing to pay a premium rental, you create multiple income streams from multiple tenants.
The demand is larger. The risk is spread. Vacancies become easier to manage.
That’s not as glamorous as a mansion. But investing isn’t about glamour. It’s about returns.
What Should Investors Be Looking At Instead?
One thing that stood out during our conversation was the growing interest in areas such as Silverest, Chongwe, Meanwood Ndeke, Chamba Valley and parts of New Kasama.
These are areas where demand continues to grow as Lusaka expands outward.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. What was once considered “far” eventually becomes established as cities grow and evolve.
We’ve seen this pattern repeatedly over the years. For diaspora investors especially, it’s important not to rely solely on memories of the Lusaka you left behind.
The city has changed. New growth corridors have emerged. New opportunities have developed.
Some of the best investment opportunities today may not be in the areas you remember from twenty years ago.
The Real Lesson
The luxury property market in Lusaka isn’t dead. But it’s reminding us of a lesson that every successful investor eventually learns.
Property investment isn’t about building what impresses people. It’s about providing what the market wants.
Sometimes that means luxury apartments. Sometimes it means smaller rental units.
Sometimes it means looking beyond the traditional “prestige” neighbourhoods and following where demand is actually growing.
The investors who succeed are usually not the ones who chase trends. They’re the ones who understand them.
And right now, the market appears to be saying something very clearly:
Build for demand, not for prestige.
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Do you think Lusaka’s luxury property market is facing a temporary slowdown or are we seeing a longer-term shift in demand?
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