Africa and Asia are urbanising faster than any other part of the world, and this entails increasing demand for affordable but high-quality residential and commercial real estate in urban areas in the two continents, global real estate portal Lamudi says, citing the United Nations.
Africa and Asia are expected to become 56% and 64% urban respectively by 2050, Lamudi says in a statement, citing UN statistics.
Rapid population growth in the two continents has caused urban areas to expand. Cities are increasingly populated by young, educated people who move in from rural areas and are relatively affluent. This process results in growing pressure on housing, infrastructure and industrial development, the Berlin-headquartered company says.
“The growing middle classes in many emerging markets are contributing to this urban shift,” Lamudi says.
Yet this rapid urbanisation process “is only the beginning for the emerging markets”, the firm says. “The development of transport, water, energy supply and technology will continue to draw both residents and investors to cities across Asia and Africa.”
The Lamudi statement cites Paul Philipp Hermann, a co-founder and managing director of the company, as saying Africa’s urban population is expected to show a 16% increase by 2020. “In Asia, statistics show that almost 200 million people moved into cities between 2000 and 2010,” Hermann says.
This process involves “the creation of new jobs, development of improved infrastructure and more affordable housing options,” he says. “This is not to say that there won’t be challenges.”
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