Real Estate
ZAMBIA REAL ESTATE SECTOR KEY FIGURES 2025, GDP, GROWTH, DEFICIT
| GDP Contribution | Sector Growth 2025 | National Housing Deficit | 2026 PPP Pipeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.04% | +3.7% | ~1.5 million units | 10,000 units |
Real estate activities contributed 4.04% to Zambia’s GDP in 2025, growing 3.7% in real terms, even as the National Housing Authority put the country’s housing deficit at approximately 1.5 million units and signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Namibia’s Ongos Valley Development in early 2026 to build 10,000 mixed-use property units.
A second major public-private initiative launched the same year, a prefabricated concrete panel housing factory in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone, is a partnership between the NHA and China Jiangsu International Corporation using manufacturing technology designed to cut both construction time and cost.
Sector Size
Real estate activities contributed 4.04% of Zambia’s nominal GDP in 2025, or ZMW 29.34 billion of the ZMW 725.6 billion total, up from ZMW 28.41 billion in 2024[1]. The sector grew 3.7% in real terms over the year[1].
The Housing Deficit
The National Housing Authority’s Acting Chief Executive Officer put Zambia’s national housing deficit at approximately 1.5 million units, describing new prefabrication technology as a timely response to both the country’s affordability and supply challenges[2].
The Ongos Valley Partnership
In early 2026, the National Housing Authority and Ongos Valley Development of Namibia signed a Memorandum of Agreement to develop 10,000 mixed-use property units across the country under a public-private partnership model[3]. Ongos Valley Development will mobilise finance, undertake construction of housing and commercial units, and deliver bulk infrastructure including water, sewerage and power[3]. The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary described the signing as marking the shift “from planning and consultation to the implementation of a transformative programme,” while the NHA Board Chairperson framed it as delivering on the National Housing Policy 2020-2024’s commitment to affordable, quality, safe and decent housing for every Zambian[3][4].
Prefabricated Housing Production
Separately, the National Housing Authority partnered with China Jiangsu International Corporation to build a prefabricated concrete panel housing factory in the Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone, operating under Zambia National Shelter Green Housing Production Limited[2]. The technology manufactures homes in concrete panel form, a method the Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development said gives customers flexibility in design while significantly reducing construction time and cost, with finishing works nearing completion ahead of commissioning[2].
Investment Opportunities
Two distinct entry points stand out from the government’s own recent activity: large-scale mixed-use development on the Ongos Valley model, and modular or prefabricated housing manufacturing aimed directly at the affordability gap the NHA has identified[2][3]. Both are explicitly structured as public-private partnerships rather than government-only builds, and both are aimed squarely at the 1.5 million unit deficit rather than higher-end segments of the market, a gap far larger than the sector’s current 4.04% GDP share on its own could close[1][2].
Last Update: August 2026
References
- Zambia Statistics Agency, Final Annual GDP release, sectoral data
- Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, Zambia’s Housing Vision Begins to Materialise
- Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, NHA and Ongos Valley Development Sign Landmark Agreement
- Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, National Housing Policy 2020-2024
