Ethiopia News: Ethiopians abroad sent home USD 8.2 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year, the Ethiopian Diaspora Service said in September 2026, and part of that money chases houses in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia diaspora property deals are still closed largely on trust, which is the gap AksumBase wants to narrow during its Phase 02 rollout.
Key facts
- Diaspora remittances reached USD 8.2 billion in 2025/26, up from USD 7.1 billion a year earlier, based on National Bank of Ethiopia data.
- Addis Ababa needs nearly 1.2 million housing units, and only 4% of private housing is financed through formal bank loans, Addis Fortune reported.
- Proclamation No. 1381/2025 gives every urban property a unique national identification code linked to a digital cadastre.
- AksumBase, founded in 2023, rolls out in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania between September and December 2026.
Why does Ethiopia diaspora property buying carry so much risk?
Distance is the first problem. A buyer in Washington or Dubai rarely walks the site, meets the developer twice or checks the land office in person.
The money also moves through weak channels. In October 2025, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia President Abe Sano said only about 22% of an estimated USD 7.2 billion in remittances travelled through formal channels, with the rest going through hawala networks and parallel-market dealers, Ethiopian Business Review reported. Informal money leaves a thin paper trail. That matters when a contract goes wrong.
And contracts do go wrong. In a July 2026 opinion piece for The Reporter, Orkaydo Gambura described developers demanding extra payments of 30% to 60% of the original price after recalculating floor areas, and informal agreements with diaspora buyers “typically favoring the developer by over 90 percent.” His figures are an author’s assessment, not an official count, but they echo complaints the government itself has tried to address.
A housing shortage that keeps prices under pressure
Demand explains why buyers accept bad terms. The figures below come from two separate reports and use different bases, so they are not directly comparable.
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units Addis Ababa needs | nearly 1.2 million | Addis Fortune, June 2025 |
| National need vs completions per year | 486,000 vs about 165,000 | World Bank projection, via Addis Fortune |
| Units under construction in Addis Ababa | about 166,000 | Mayor Adanech Abiebie, May 2026 |
| City’s remaining condominium debt | close to ETB 30 billion | Mayor Adanech Abiebie, May 2026 |
Mayor Adanech Abiebie told the city council in May that “the supply cannot meet the demand all at once,” according to The Reporter. She set a target of 100,000 homes a year. On 12 October she presented the city’s first-quarter review, promising “clean, dignified homes” for residents facing shortages, Fana reported, though without new unit numbers.
What the new registration law changes
Proclamation No. 1381/2025 on urban landholding and property registration replaced Proclamation No. 818/2014. It makes registration of urban land and buildings mandatory and assigns each property a unique code tied to legal and spatial records, according to a summary by EthioData. Sales, inheritances, mortgages and leases must be recorded.
On paper, that closes the door on double ownership claims. In practice, a registry protects only the buyer who checks it, and checking from abroad depends on who does the checking.
The AksumBase approach
AksumBase, founded in 2023, is a platform to search, buy, rent and list real estate. Its focus is the people behind a listing. Professional profiles on the platform, such as agents and other property professionals, are KYC-verified with LutinX, so an Ethiopia diaspora property buyer can see that the counterparty’s identity has been checked before money or documents change hands.
The rollout runs in three stages. Phase 01 covered Ghana, Nigeria and Gambia from June to August 2026. Phase 02 brings Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania online between September and December 2026, and Phase 03 goes continental in 2027.
Our view: identity checks on professionals solve one part of the diaspora problem, the question of who you are dealing with. They do not replace a title search under the new registration law, an escrow arrangement or a lawyer. Buyers should treat a verified profile as a first filter.
We covered the legal side of foreign ownership in our earlier report on Ethiopia opening homes to foreign buyers. For the currency backdrop, see our story on the USD 500 million sale to support the birr.
FAQ
How much do Ethiopians abroad send home?
USD 8.2 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year, according to the Ethiopian Diaspora Service citing National Bank of Ethiopia data. A large share still moves through informal channels.
Does AksumBase verify properties or titles?
AksumBase verifies the identity of professional profiles through KYC with LutinX. Title checks remain a matter for the land registry and the buyer’s own legal advice.
When does AksumBase launch in Ethiopia?
Ethiopia is part of Phase 02, scheduled for September to December 2026, alongside Kenya and Tanzania.
Sources: Ethiopian Business Review, Addis Fortune, The Reporter (housing debt), The Reporter (opinion), Fana, EthioData, AksumBase.
