The Addis Ababa City Administration Land Development and Administration Office has announced this issue to all cities through Sheger FM 102.1 Radio, stating that the price offered in agreements between buyers and sellers is significantly reduced and that the government is collecting less revenue from house sales than it should, based on current professional appraisal values.
To address this issue, effective measures have been in place since June 8, 2015. Despite these measures, numerous complaints have been raised by the community regarding the implementation and procedures of house selling prices at the city level. The Land Development and Administration Office, in collaboration with the Landholding Registration and Information Agency, has conducted a joint study and made adjustments on various deficiencies and on the assessment of house selling prices.
As a result, the benchmark selling price for apartment and condominium houses has been adjusted to decrease by 34 percent from the previous rate in June. For constructions other than condominiums and apartments:• The base price for a villa house made of mud (G+0) is 15,000 birr per square meter, • For a villa house made of blocks (G+0), it is 20,000 birr per square meter, • For building extensions from G+1 to G+5, it is 25,000 birr, and • For houses or buildings of G+6 and above, it is set at 30,000 birr per square meter.
The ‘location value’ has also been adjusted to reflect the current average lease auction price for the city’s locations.
The property transfer fee, which includes a 4 percent assurance fee and a 2 percent timber fee of the total house selling price, has been enforced since Megabit 17, 2016.
The office has also announced the adjustment of the house selling price benchmark, effective from the previous June.
It has been stated that cases involving property transfers requested by courts and banks will be executed under established legal frameworks for property service and rights creation.
Those who have paid the service fee for property transfer before the issuance of this adjustment, following the procedure and based on the fee they had paid, will be reimbursed according to the previous system.
Unfinished buildings will be assessed for their construction work according to the current or achieved construction level, as outlined in the execution guideline written by the Addis Ababa City Administration Land Development and Administration Office for all cities, and announced on Sheger Radio.