What commercial property costs in Ethiopia

Price per square metre is the comparable figure

Commercial buildings vary far more in size than homes do, so a total price carries almost no comparative information. Divide by recorded lettable or usable floor area and compare that figure across properties of the same type in the same city. Establish which area basis a seller is quoting, since gross built area and usable area can differ substantially in the same building.

Treat each category separately

• Offices price against floor plate, access, lift and power provision, and the quality of the common areas.
• Retail and street-facing commercial price heavily on frontage and footfall, so two units in the same building can differ widely.
• Mixed-use buildings need each component priced on its own basis before totalling.
• Warehouse and industrial sites price on clear height, floor loading, yard space, truck access and power capacity — not on floor area alone.
• Land prices on plot area, tenure and permitted development, and in Ethiopian cities urban land is normally held under leasehold rather than freehold.

Where the numbers come from

The EPEX Ethiopian Property Index publishes median recorded sale prices and medians per square metre by city, quarter and property type. Commercial categories are thinner than residential ones, so many are shown as withheld: the index suppresses any category with fewer than three recorded sales instead of publishing a median that a single transaction could move. A withheld figure means the evidence is insufficient, not that the market is inactive.

Asking prices are excluded from the index. They tell you what sellers want, which in a thin market can sit well away from what buyers pay.

Costs that sit outside the headline price

Budget for transfer and registration costs, professional fees, any outstanding land lease obligations, service charges, insurance, and the capital expenditure needed to make the building usable for your purpose. On an EPEX transaction, every deduction and payment appears on a versioned closing statement that both sides approve against an exact version before any authorisation is issued.

Permitted use, occupancy and licensing are not confirmed by EPEX documentary review and should be checked with your own advisers and the relevant authority.