Demand for bricks in Harare up

Martin Kadzere  Senior Property Reporter
SEVERAL prospective homeowners in Harare are having to wait for more than two months to receive deliveries of bricks, whose demand has significantly gone up in the past few months.

While traditionally, the supply of bricks is usually affected during the rain season, many people have been making huge orders as a way of storing value in light of depreciation of bank balances and bond notes. The high demand for foreign currency to effect payments for imports largely contributed to depreciation of bank values. Prices have also gone up to an average $165 per 1000 from an average $140 for common bricks, a survey by The Herald Property Guide show.

“There is huge demand for bricks than ever because the product has become a substitute for cash as a store of value,” said an official with a Harare based brick company. Our customers are now waiting for up to eight weeks to receive their orders. Under normal circumstances, it would take less than two weeks. The situations is even expected to worsen in the next few months as production will be affected by the rains.”

An official at Willdale sales office in Harare confirmed the company was taking up to eight weeks to make deliveries. However, orders placed by larger firms were being prioritised by kilns operators over those from small customers such as individuals.

“Those making big orders are getting priority while those making smaller orders will have to wait for several weeks before their orders are fulfiled,” an official with Beta Bricks said.

John Rangarira said his housing project had delayed due to shortages of bricks. “I have an account with one of the brick manufacturing firm in Mt Hampden. I initially took an order of 20 000 bricks but it is now difficult to get another consignment because they don’t have the product, particularly hard common bricks.

“I had no option but to stop the project.”

Steven Nenga, a Harare based contractor said while this time of the year had been traditionally characterised with shortage of bricks, “the situation is worse this year.”