The next property hotspot will surprise you

Few, if any, locals will have been there, let alone be thinking of it as the next hot overseas property investment destination, but the African nation of Somalia, pitched on the war-torn horn of Africa, has been highlighted as a candidate for a long-term real estate investment location.

Somalia, according to a study by Swedish professor Hans Rosling and widely reported by Western media in recent days, is set to benefit from high population growth by the end of the century, while Africa is expected to account for over two-thirds of the worlds additional 3 billion people by the end of the 21st century.

That is a long-term investment indeed.

Rosling predicted demand for Somalias golden beaches - the longest in Africa - would increase as a growing middle class in both Asia and Africa seek for new holiday destinations along the Indian Ocean.

The Indian Ocean will be the Atlantic of the next generations, Rosling was quoted by the Financial Times as saying in the study.

Right now Somalia is probably not a place to visit, let alone invest, due to the two-decade-long civil war between government forces and the Islamic militant Al Shabab group that seeks to install sharia laws in the country.

However, looking forward Professor Rosling is not the only one to shine a spotlight on Arfrica. Knight Frank, in its latest Africa Report, said Africas rapid population increase, coupled by a strong economic growth across several countries on the continent, was building a formidable middle class that could prove too attractive for global real estate investors to ignore.

Image: Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, by Maxamad, licenced via Wikimedia Commons.

Andrew Batt, International Group Editor ofPropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories emailandrew@propertyguru.com.sg

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