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encompasses the income earning capacity of an asset and its resale value over time.
It is from this standpoint that we are going to evaluate the benefits of real estate investment in the short to long term when one does so by targeting a specific segment of the market.
It is common knowledge that our market is suffering from a serious shortage of low-cost housing resulting in high rentals emanating from high demand.
The providence of such housing has immense benefit in the short and long term to meet demand.
One can even argue that demand will remain high in the long term if one uses advanced economies low-cost housing schemes as case studies.
However, this article is mainly targeted at other real estate investments that will continue to give high returns in the long term especially if the economy continues to grow as projected.
Therefore, in this contest market segmentation may be defined as the grouping of people according to their residential or commercial needs.
If one bases investing according to homogeneity then one aspect that can ensure a return of investment is the building of off-campus affordable student housing.
When one takes into account the competitiveness of the local job market coupled with the emphasis the Government puts on education, it will not be too difficult to decipher that the construction of blocks of affordable student accommodation will define the real estate of the future.
This to some might sound far-fetched considering the number of students that are opting to study abroad. However, this number previously was proliferated by lack of resources of institutions resulting in an inability to provide adequate service.
This will soon become a thing of the past and our market will start to attract foreign students again increasing the demand on the already overstretched accommodation demand.
A few people are looking at developments that attract the ageing and aged in our market. Some of the reasons for this omission are based on cultural norms.
However, some of these norms are being replaced with different practices as some people are adapting different cultures and letting go of practices like retiring in the rural areas.
This segment of the market is becoming increasing independent and often does not require the assistance of their off spring to survive.
Their demand mainly is security and serenity and easy access to essential services.
The construction of clusters providing these basic requirements will most certainly prove valuable in the long term.
In our current market the availability of mortgage finance is limited while the demand for it is extremely high.
The middle-income and low-income persons are finding it extremely difficult to raise enough capital to buy stands to build or purchase at one go a starter home. This opens a huge gap for a segment in the market that is hungry for rent-to- buy options.
Here developers can benefit from maximising on pricing while fulfilling a strategic gap within the market.
This is a viable option as the fear of the property depreciating due to tenant activity is limited because of a feeling of shared ownership.
These are but a few examples of the market segments that can be utilised in achieving long-term benefit that includes optimal rental and resale value.
As far as risk of investment in the local market is concerned, it is critical to understand the degree in which property demands interacts with property supply to determine rental and property prices.
Thus each segment of the market is idiosyncratic on its benefit and risk making it extremely negligent for the author to recommend a particular segment.
This article does not provide a conclusive risk benefit analysis but is intended to open up minds to the possibility of different real estate investment possibilities. It is common knowledge that the real estate in our metropolis cannot be put in one box as its benefit and risk profiles are diverse.
Vengai Madzima is a property investment consultant and analyst with Wisdom Properties Real Estate. He can be contacted on     0772468093 email: [email protected]