We have a WhatsApp forum for real estate called ZBIN Real Estate and three quarters of the members on the group are Zimbabweans in foreign land. Most of the members are in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and a few in London.
So during the weekend members had discussions about purchasing real estate in Zim-heated discussions that resulted in members agreeing on forming real estate societies.In these societies, members are supposed to pool funds and to do this by doing monthly contributions.
The Bad News
Now ZBIN discourages members from any schemes that result in any pooling of funds-this is a high risk venture similar to a Ponzi scheme. We did shoot down this idea which needed endorsement from us for members to speedily put in place a scheme for the Zimbo-Cape Town community.
The Good News
The good news is that as a community we will continue to bring to light business issues that concern the Diaspora. If feasible we will engage relevant authorities. In the case of the Diaspora and Real Estate we believe that only reputable institutions should handle these issues. Gentle reader, we are talking of an industry with a potential to reach a quarter of a billion if handled carefully.
From discussions with the diasporan community there are common issues-most of them would like to come back home one day. Most of them are interested in participating in the local economy through establishing their own businesses. As shown by the recent ZBIN Real Estate discussions, there is massive interest in the Real Estate sector.
So in the absence of formal mechanisms, in the absence of programs targeting this massive community of more than 3 million people-folks are forming own informal platforms. They are forming risky platforms where loss of contributions is extremely easy. The question is –how many real estate societies are out there?.
Recommendation
To the RBZ Chief Dr Mangudya, after fixing the Bond issues, kindly address this sector. I heard you on radio emphasising the issue of exports and foreign currency generation. Here is one way to help in mobilising foreign currency. Have a relook at the Homelink concept, very good concept on paper and initially performed well. However somewhere along the way, the wheels came off.
So restrategise, engage a new vibrant team, incorporate the Diaspora voice too and unlock hundreds of millions that exist in this sector. Do offer schemes for all diasporans and not the middle income earners as happened last time.
Other Real Estate Players also need to do thorough market researches of this important sector and develop marketing strategies targeting our hard working sons and daughters on foreign land. So to FBC, Fidelity, Old Mutual, Way Mark do restrategise and look closely at this sector. Other Financial institutions also need to look closely at developing products that meet the needs of the diaspora.
This is the best that ZBIN can do-Politely engaging key players through posts such as this one.
