For the past thirty years or so, living in the Senegalese capital has become increasingly expensive . Indeed, the rapid growth of Dakar's population has outpaced the availability of housing. As a result, with supply falling far short of demand, real estate prices have skyrocketed. Consequently, it has become very difficult for many people to find decent housing without spending exorbitant sums. We will try to understand the reasons behind this sharp increase in rents in Dakar .
EXPONENTIAL INCREASE OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS
The figures cited by industry experts are unequivocal: rents have increased by nearly 250% since 1994. As a result, being a tenant in Dakar today has become a luxury. The first victims of this price inflation are undoubtedly the poorest people. They are forced to settle for substandard housing at a price far exceeding their initial budget.
Indeed, this rent increase isn't limited to certain neighborhoods in the capital. The entire city of Dakar is affected by this price surge. It's not uncommon to find that for some households, rent sometimes exceeds half of their monthly income , in addition to other expenses such as food, bills, and commuting to work.
HOW CAN THIS INCREASE BE EXPLAINED?
Like all markets, the real estate market naturally follows a very simple rule. High supply and low demand inevitably lead to lower prices, and conversely, low supply and high demand will cause prices to rise. This applies to the vast majority of markets.
Dakar's population has been steadily increasing for nearly three decades. It has grown from approximately 700,000 inhabitants in 1970 to almost 3.6 million today . The population increases by 5% every year.
These figures are due to the rural exodus, which has never ceased. People are flocking to Dakar from other regions for professional reasons or simply to live better lives.
Housing construction has not kept pace with this explosion in Dakar's population, and as mentioned above, the amount of rents has followed the implacable rule of the real estate market.
GOVERNMENT ATTEMPTS TO COUNTER RISING PRICES
Various governments have tried to address the rising rents in Dakar. However, it is clear that the different policies implemented have all failed.
Let's take the example of 2014 and Law No. 2013-03, which aimed to reduce rents by 4% to 30% during that period. This required taking into account numerous factors such as the size of the property, its location, and its condition. However, this law never resulted in a decrease in rents; quite the opposite, in fact. Most landlords never fully implemented the law and even continued to raise their rents.
The latest measure undertaken by the government has been to act directly on the supply side, by proposing the 100,000 homes project , with the aim of enabling the population, especially the most disadvantaged, to access decent housing.
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