Africa Scoops Five Places In Emerging Markets' Top 10 Property 'Risk Index'

Emerging and frontier markets present unique and individual challenges for property occupiers and investors.

And, tracking the world’s most sought after emerging economies is no easy task with a welter of data to crunch. But according to a new report five African markets rank in the top 10 globally – with Botswana heading the pack – as the “most transparent” emerging economies.

According to Cushman & Wakefield’s latest annual Emerging and Frontier Markets report (2015), a 55-page study that provides investors with overviews of the office market and relevant property indicators for 42 countries globally – from Angola to Zambia – Africa dominates the top 10 rankings through South Africa (3rd), Ghana (4th), Morocco (8th) and Tunisia (10th) – in addition to Botswana in southern Africa that retains its 2014 top ranking.

Reasons cited for Africa having secured half of the top 10 most attractive emerging market locations include a growing middle class population, better infrastructure and technological improvements in a number of countries possessing transparent real estate markets.

Data from all the 42 countries evaluated in the current findings has been collated into a ‘Risk Index’ by Cushman & Wakefield, a leading global real estate services firm that recently merged with DTZ. However, BRIC economies (Brazil, India, Russia and China) were excluded from the Index as these territories were considered to be “more mature locations.”

And, as emerging markets become increasingly integrated into the global economy it’s important to remember the sheer size and diversity of developing economies. Middleton adds: “Africa is a good example of this with countries [across the continent] offering very different operational profiles. Real estate strategies [consequently] need to reflect this.”

Indeed, illustrating the diversity of the African continent, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria and Zimbabwe are perceived to “carry greater risk” and feature near the bottom of the rankings – at 41st, 39th, 33rd and 38th, respectively.