In our edition of the proceedings, we are happy to welcome you to our twentieth AfRES annual conference for 2021 and the first virtual conference we hold. We still called it the Lusaka conference as the organizing team is mainly based here in Lusaka and it is the city where it should have been held in 2020. Lusaka is the capital and major commercial city of Zambia. Lusaka is also one of the fastest developing cities in the Southern African region. It is situated on a plateau of about 1280 meters above sea level with beautiful view all around. It is well connected to the country’s road infrastructure in all four directions, north, south, east, and west. Lusaka is named after a village of Chief Lusaka in the Manda Hill. In 1905 the British built the railway and Lusaka took off as a major center. By 1935 it replaced Livingstone as the capital of Northern Rhodesia as Zambia was called then.

Since the federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia in 1953, Lusaka became the center for independence movements. In 1964 Lusaka became the capital of the independent Republic of Zambia. In recent years it has become a popular destination for Zambians to settle and for tourists who enjoy the beautiful climate of Lusaka. Lusaka has the largest learning institutions in Zambia and some of the best schools in the country. It is surrounded by several tourist attractions which include Lusaka National Park, Presidential Burial Site National Monument, Lilayi Elephant Nursey, Lusaka National Museum, Chaminuka Nature Reserve and many more. Lusaka is also about an hour’s flight to Livingstone, the home of the mighty Victoria Falls and the tourist capital of Zambia.

As usual, we have to thank the numerous sponsors who have assisted in different ways; the conference would not have been possible without their contributions. We trust that we will all benefit from the gathering through discussions, debates and networking both of a professional and academic nature.

Today, as maturation in the African real estate sector is happening, we look at the future of the sector and see what next for our beloved continent. Real estate markets are starting to show growth and higher levels of maturity. From the papers and presentations, data is starting to reflect a much-needed understanding of the futures of these markets. The theme of this conference, appropriately “The future of the African real estate sector: what next?” shows that we are heading towards a new era.

This year we are a good proof that we are growing stronger and stronger. We had 46 submitted abstracts of which 38 will be presented and available for your reading in the proceedings. We had 17 papers for reviewing of which 12 were accepted, reviewed, and are published here. We appreciate the Scientific / Technical committee of the conference for their work in reviewing the submitted abstracts and papers. The feedback to the authors assisted greatly in finalizing them in the format presented in these proceedings. The papers printed in these proceedings were double-blind reviewed to ensure the highest standards and international comparability. The abstracts were reviewed, and in some cases, guidance given to authors.

The South African Real Estate Society (SAfRES) chapter is grateful to those who assisted and contributed to bringing this conference together and making it happen. We are appreciative of the hours of work which some of our members dedicated to the process.

Professor Kabunda Ephraim Munshifwa
On behalf of the Organizing committee September 2021