| dc.description.abstract | Real estate is the land consisting of permanent structures attached to it whether natural or artificial including buildings, trees, minerals, water and minerals. Real estate also includes all artificial structures permanently attached to the land. It can be divided into two broad categories i.e., residential, and commercial. (Giddings, 2009)
Real property is physical property of the real estate however it includes the bundle of ownership and usage rights. Real property therefore allows the owner to use the property as they see it fit.
Real estate development is an essential process of developing buildings or land into a higher use value. Development of real estate encompasses buying land and building property on it, understanding of tenant’s requirements, zoning laws of the area and project management (Smith, 2016).
Real estate development is a relatively new investment opportunity that has enabled people to purchase plots of land and construct homes in different areas of Uganda. Within a short period of time, there has been emergency of different settlement patterns both formal and informal which is as a result of differences in the market value of the real estates.
The growth rate of the real estate sector was estimated to be 5.6 percent between 2004 and 2008 (Ministry of lands, Housing and Urban Development, 2008). Its growth was attributed to rapid population growth, increase in disposable income, and increase in direct foreign investment and immigrant remittances. This sector on average accounted for 7.5% of Uganda’s GDP (National Development Plan, 2010).
The Government of Uganda recognizes the strategic, social and economic importance of housing in the national economy particularly to the socio-economic transformation of the country as highlighted in Vision 2040. It is a Government policy to ensure that every family lives in a decent
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and affordable house that meets the necessary requirements of safety, security of tenure, health, privacy and protection from the weather adversities. (National housing policy, 2016).
Settlement is any form of human dwelling, from the smallest house to the largest city. Settlements can be as small as one house and as large as a megacity, home to tens of millions of people. Settlements start in different places for different reasons which may be permanent or temporary. (Duffy, 2009)
A settlement pattern refers to the shape of the settlement as seen from above. Settlement patterns include, nucleated settlements, linear settlements and dispersed settlements. There are different factors that influence settlement patterns. These factors include; the surrounding landscape, land ownership, fertility of the land and whether the land is good for building or not. (Duffy, 2009)
Inadequate decent housing in Sub-Saharan Africa’s developing cities and towns particularly for low and medium income families is already growing worse year by year. It is estimated that by 2030, Africa’s cities will have accommodated more than 300 new residents. Unless there is an increase in the production of housing, cities already unable to cope with dramatic levels of urbanization will be completely overrun with more informal settlements and slums hence informal developments. Currently 74% of Zambia’s urban population lives in informal developments, in Nigeria, 80%, in Sudan, 85.7%; in Tanzania 92.1%; in Uganda, 93%, and in Ethiopia a staggering 99.4% (Republic of Uganda, 2007).
To-date, both government and private developers are responsible for housing provision and the private real estate developers are at the forefront of housing estates and land pricing in Uganda. This came as a result of the government being unable to perform its role in housing provision hence it stopped investing in the housing schemes because of the problems that were associated with the operation and maintenance of the housing schemes. The main task of the government is to put in place appropriate policy, legal and regulatory framework for the housing sector to flourish (National Development Plan, 2010). | en_US |
