Invest in affordable housing in Busaabala

Busaabala was largely off the beaten track for many until Bobi Wine’s Kyarenga concert of November 10, 2018. The tiny Lake Victoria peninsular 15 kilometres south of Kampala gained more visibility after Bobi Wine, the musician-cum-Member of Parliament and the engine behind People Power, hosted a successful music concert at his property in Busaabala. The media trained all their lights on the small waterfront village for more reasons than entertainment and officially blew the lid off this beautiful piece of real estate so close to the city.

The political spotlight did not end there. Just last week, Dr Kiiza Besigye and his colleagues officially launched the people’s government from Busaabala. These incidents might be coincidental but Busaabala is nolonger an unknown fishing village.

All this political spotlight is just the icing on the cake though. The veil was officially taken off Busaabala a few years before November 10 when the Entebbe Expressway was constructed through the area.

The four-lane modern highway opened up Busaabala for the first time ever because prior to its construction, one had to endure 15 kilometres of treacherous potholes and thick clouds of dust to get to Busaabala. In short, if you didn’t have very profitable business here, you avoided it like the plague. Those troubles are in the past now.

Today, you can access the area from Munyonyo or from Kajjansi depending on preference. The days of prospective tenants avoiding this part of the city are effectively over.

Property speculators and traders can now buy land to sale later at a hefty profit. Property developers can now take advantage of the newly opened access to invest in rental homes.

Endless land options
What you need to know about Busaabala is that the area around the landing site is quite slummy and overcrowded. However, the further you move away from the fisherman’s zone, the more you discover great real estate.

What makes property in Busaabala special is that there are three feeder roads that connect the general peninsular to the new highway. A standard plot of 50X100ft feet with a title costs Shs35m or more depending on the location and other variables. “Such a plot could hold five rental homes and a parking lot depending on how well you plan,” says Sulaiman Sentamu a property broker.

“Each of these would be a two-bedroom house that would earn you about Shs350,000 at the current rates.”

But Busaabala is not the only village that has been opened up by the new expressway. All the surrounding villages have also been opened to anyone who wants to take advantage of this new property market. For instance, Buggu, which is a trading center located at the intersection where the highway crosses the Busaabala road (at the traffic lights) is a great place to invest in property.

Plots here are cheaper than those in Busaabala because they are not lake view. They go for Shs40m for a standard plot with a freehold title.

In case your budget is lower than that, there are more properties on sale in Mutungo to the North East of Busaabala.
Standard plots here go for Shs20m if they are off the main feeder road and Shs30m if they are closer to the road. The prices are even juicier when they are on Kabaka’s land.

Lake breeze in Ziranumbu
Ziranumbu is a hill to the east of Buzaabala, a few kilometers to Kajjansi. All the plots here are lake view. They were previously hard to access, but the new road opened them up. For that reason, they don’t come cheap. A standard plot on Ziranumbu goes for Shs45m on Kabaka’s land and Shs80m with a freehold title. An acre here goes for 600m. This villages is perfect for a dream home.

Waterfront properties
Leaving the residential plots aside, for anyone interested in the entertainment or the hospitality industries, Busaabala might be a cheaper option.

Cheaper compared to other waterfront locations like Ggaba or Entebbe. For obvious reasons. There is more demand for property in Ggaba and Entebbe than there is in Busaabala.

The high demand causes steep prices. The waterfront properties that are on sale in Busaabala are as good as any.
Depending on the needs of the investor, these would be suitable for beach businesses (such as Bobi’s One Love beach), a lake resort, or even a dream home.

An acre of a waterfront piece of land goes for Shs400m, according to Godfrey Asiimwe, a property trader in the area.
Busaabala is a great option not only for a person who dreams to live near water, but a business person who wishes to cash in on the good returns from rental homes.

Not only is it a cheaper option when it comes to rent costs, the new highway has pulled it closer to Kampala city.
For anyone who has been looking to grow their savings, trading in Busaabala land might prove to be a wise decision.