Authored by the expert who managed and guided the team behind the Ethiopia Property Pack
Yes, the analysis of Addis Ababa's property market is included in our pack
So you want to know how much houses cost in Addis Ababa in 2026, but you're finding it hard to get clear, reliable numbers.
We've done the research for you, gathering data from local listing platforms, official government sources, and market reports to give you a complete picture of house prices across the city.
This blog post is constantly updated to reflect the latest market conditions in Addis Ababa.
And if you're planning to buy a property in this place, you may want to download our pack covering the real estate market in Addis Ababa.
How much do houses cost in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
What's the median and average house price in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, the median asking price for a house in Addis Ababa is around Br 31.4 million (about $203,000 USD or €175,000 EUR), while the average asking price sits higher at roughly Br 40 million ($258,000 USD or €222,000 EUR).
The typical price range that covers roughly 80% of house sales in Addis Ababa falls between Br 15 million and Br 60 million ($97,000 to $387,000 USD, or €83,000 to €333,000 EUR).
The gap between median and average exists because expensive villas in areas like Bole and Yeka pull the average upward, which tells you that the Addis Ababa market has a long tail of luxury properties at the top end.
At the median price of Br 31.4 million in Addis Ababa, you can typically expect a solid 4-bedroom family house in a mid-range sub-city like Nifas Silk-Lafto, with basic finishes and a small compound, though not in the most premium expat neighborhoods.
What's the cheapest livable house budget in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, the minimum budget for a livable house in Addis Ababa is around Br 15 to 18 million ($97,000 to $116,000 USD, or €83,000 to €100,000 EUR).
At this entry-level price point in Addis Ababa, "livable" typically means a modest house with basic utilities connected (water and electricity), functional plumbing and electrical systems, and clear lease or title documentation, though finishes may be simple and the property might need cosmetic updates.
These cheapest livable houses in Addis Ababa are usually found in areas like Arada (around Piazza and Arat Kilo), parts of Addis Ketema near Merkato, and outer sections of Nifas Silk-Lafto such as the Jemo corridors.
Wondering what you can get? We cover all the buying opportunities at different budget levels in Addis Ababa here.
How much do 2 and 3-bedroom houses cost in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, a typical 2-bedroom house in Addis Ababa costs around Br 17 to 24 million ($110,000 to $155,000 USD, or €94,000 to €133,000 EUR), while a 3-bedroom house has a median asking price of about Br 26 million ($168,000 USD or €144,000 EUR).
The realistic price range for a 2-bedroom house in Addis Ababa spans from Br 17 million to Br 24 million ($110,000 to $155,000 USD, or €94,000 to €133,000 EUR), depending on location and whether the property has clear paperwork.
For a 3-bedroom house in Addis Ababa, expect to pay anywhere from Br 17 million to Br 36 million ($110,000 to $232,000 USD, or €94,000 to €200,000 EUR), with the wide range reflecting differences between outer areas and premium sub-cities.
Moving from a 2-bedroom to a 3-bedroom house in Addis Ababa typically adds around Br 5 to 10 million ($32,000 to $65,000 USD, or €28,000 to €56,000 EUR) to your budget, though this premium varies significantly based on neighborhood.
How much do 4-bedroom houses cost in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, a typical 4-bedroom house in Addis Ababa costs around Br 29 million ($187,000 USD or €161,000 EUR) at the median, with prices ranging widely from Br 15 million to Br 60 million ($97,000 to $387,000 USD, or €83,000 to €333,000 EUR).
The realistic price range for a 5-bedroom house in Addis Ababa is Br 25 million to Br 50 million ($161,000 to $323,000 USD, or €139,000 to €278,000 EUR), with the median sitting around Br 32 million ($206,000 USD or €178,000 EUR).
For a 6-bedroom house in Addis Ababa, expect to pay between Br 40 million and Br 55 million ($258,000 to $355,000 USD, or €222,000 to €306,000 EUR), especially if you are looking for a villa-style property with a proper compound in areas like Bole or Yeka.
Please note that we give much more detailed data in our pack about the property market in Addis Ababa.
How much do new-build houses cost in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, a typical new-build house in Addis Ababa costs around Br 36 to 41 million ($232,000 to $265,000 USD, or €200,000 to €228,000 EUR), based on applying the new-build premium to the citywide median.
New-build houses in Addis Ababa typically carry a 15% to 30% premium compared to older resale houses in the same location, because buyers pay for modern layouts, better plumbing and electrical systems, parking and security features, and fewer immediate repair costs.
How much do houses with land cost in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, a typical house with a meaningful private compound in Addis Ababa costs around Br 32 to 55 million ($206,000 to $355,000 USD, or €178,000 to €306,000 EUR), with prime areas going well beyond that range.
In Addis Ababa, a "house with land" typically means a property with a larger private yard or compound compared to the tight, attached housing common in many neighborhoods, and this extra space often comes with stronger lease or title documentation.
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Where are houses cheapest and most expensive in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
Which neighborhoods have the lowest house prices in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, the neighborhoods with the lowest house prices in Addis Ababa include Piazza and Arat Kilo (in the Arada sub-city), areas near Merkato (around Addis Ketema), and parts of Jemo in Nifas Silk-Lafto.
In these cheapest neighborhoods in Addis Ababa, typical house prices range from Br 15 million to Br 25 million ($97,000 to $161,000 USD, or €83,000 to €139,000 EUR).
The main reason these neighborhoods have lower prices is that they tend to have older housing stock with smaller plots, more complex title or lease situations, and less appeal to the expat and diaspora buyers who drive premium pricing elsewhere in Addis Ababa.
Which neighborhoods have the highest house prices in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, the three neighborhoods with the highest house prices in Addis Ababa are the Old Airport area (in Bole), Kazanchis (straddling Kirkos and Bole), and the CMC/Megenagna corridor (in Yeka).
In these most expensive neighborhoods in Addis Ababa, typical house prices range from Br 45 million to Br 130 million ($290,000 to $839,000 USD, or €250,000 to €722,000 EUR), with the Yeka sub-city median alone sitting around Br 52 million ($335,000 USD or €289,000 EUR).
These neighborhoods command the highest prices because they offer villa-style compounds with security, proximity to embassies and international organizations, reliable infrastructure, and the clearest land lease documentation in Addis Ababa.
The typical buyer in these premium Addis Ababa neighborhoods is either a diplomat, an NGO professional, a diaspora Ethiopian returning home, or a senior executive at a multinational company, all of whom prioritize security, space, and hassle-free paperwork over budget.
How much do houses cost near the city center in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, a typical house near the city center of Addis Ababa (areas like Kirkos, Kazanchis, and parts of Arada around Meskel Square) costs between Br 20 million and Br 55 million ($129,000 to $355,000 USD, or €111,000 to €306,000 EUR), depending on whether you are buying older central stock or a premium central location.
Houses near major transit hubs in Addis Ababa, especially those walkable to the Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations, typically carry a 5% to 15% premium over comparable properties farther from transit, though heavy traffic noise can offset some of that value.
Houses near top-rated international schools in Addis Ababa, such as the International Community School (ICS Addis) and Sandford International School, tend to fall in the Br 35 to 60 million range ($226,000 to $387,000 USD, or €194,000 to €333,000 EUR), as families cluster around Bole and Yeka to shorten commutes.
Houses in expat-popular areas of Addis Ababa, including Old Airport (Bole), Kazanchis, and CMC/Megenagna, typically cost Br 40 million or more ($258,000 USD or €222,000 EUR) for a family-sized property with good security and compound space.
We actually have an updated expat guide for Addis Ababa here.
How much do houses cost in the suburbs in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, a typical house in the suburbs of Addis Ababa costs around Br 15 to 30 million ($97,000 to $194,000 USD, or €83,000 to €167,000 EUR) for a livable family home, rising to Br 30 to 45 million ($194,000 to $290,000 USD, or €167,000 to €250,000 EUR) for newer builds with better roads and neighborhood prestige.
The typical price difference between suburban houses and city-center houses in Addis Ababa is around 30% to 50%, meaning a house that costs Br 50 million in Kazanchis might cost Br 25 to 35 million in outer Nifas Silk-Lafto.
The most popular suburbs for house buyers in Addis Ababa include Jemo and surrounding areas in Nifas Silk-Lafto, outer Yeka toward the ring road, and emerging corridors along the main expansion zones south and east of the city center.
What areas in Addis Ababa are improving and still affordable as of 2026?
As of early 2026, the top areas in Addis Ababa that are improving and still affordable for house buyers include parts of Nifas Silk-Lafto (especially the Jemo corridors), outer Yeka toward the CMC/Megenagna expansion zones, and pockets near new infrastructure projects on the city's ring road.
The current typical house price in these improving yet affordable areas of Addis Ababa is around Br 18 to 30 million ($116,000 to $194,000 USD, or €100,000 to €167,000 EUR), which is below the citywide median but with upside potential.
The main sign of improvement driving buyer interest in these areas is the arrival of new housing supply, better road connections, and expanding utilities coverage, which signal that these neighborhoods are transitioning from "outer" to "established" without yet carrying premium price tags.
By the way, we've written a blog article detailing what are the current best areas to invest in property in Addis Ababa.
We did some research and made this infographic to help you quickly compare rental yields of the major cities in Ethiopia versus those in neighboring countries. It provides a clear view of how this country positions itself as a real estate investment destination, which might interest you if you’re planning to invest there.
What extra costs should I budget for a house in Addis Ababa right now?
What are typical buyer closing costs for houses in Addis Ababa right now?
The estimated typical total closing cost for house buyers in Addis Ababa is around 6% to 10% of the purchase price, which means you should budget an extra Br 1.9 to 3.1 million ($12,000 to $20,000 USD, or €10,500 to €17,000 EUR) on a Br 31 million median-priced house.
The main closing cost categories in Addis Ababa include stamp duty at 2% of the sales amount (paid by the buyer), ownership title transfer tax at 4%, plus authentication, registration, and administrative fees, as well as optional legal help and due diligence costs that are highly recommended for foreigners.
The single largest closing cost category for house buyers in Addis Ababa is the ownership title transfer tax at 4%, which alone adds Br 1.2 million ($7,700 USD or €6,700 EUR) on a median-priced house.
We cover all these costs and what are the strategies to minimize them in our property pack about Addis Ababa.
How much are property taxes on houses in Addis Ababa right now?
The estimated typical annual property tax for a house in Addis Ababa falls in the range of 0.3% to 1.0% of the municipality-assessed value, which translates to roughly Br 94,000 to Br 310,000 per year ($600 to $2,000 USD, or €520 to €1,700 EUR) for a median-priced property.
Property tax in Addis Ababa is calculated using separate rates for land and buildings, with land tax ranging from about 0.2% to 1% and building tax from about 0.1% to 1%, depending on the assessed value band set by the municipality.
If you want to go into more details, we also have a page with all the property taxes and fees in Addis Ababa.
How much is home insurance for a house in Addis Ababa right now?
The estimated typical annual home insurance cost for a house in Addis Ababa is around 0.15% to 0.35% of the insured value, which means roughly Br 47,000 to Br 110,000 per year ($300 to $700 USD, or €260 to €600 EUR) for a median-priced property insured at Br 31 million.
The main factors that affect home insurance premiums for houses in Addis Ababa include the type of coverage (fire-only versus broader protection), the construction materials and age of the building, the location and security features, and the chosen insurer's pricing.
What are typical utility costs for a house in Addis Ababa right now?
The estimated typical total monthly utility cost for a house in Addis Ababa is around Br 500 to Br 4,000 ($3 to $26 USD, or €2.80 to €22 EUR), depending on household size and usage patterns.
The breakdown of main utility categories in Addis Ababa includes electricity at Br 300 to Br 3,000 per month ($2 to $19 USD) for low to high usage, and water and sewerage at Br 200 to Br 1,000 per month ($1.30 to $6.50 USD), with higher bills if you have garden or compound use.
What are common hidden costs when buying a house in Addis Ababa right now?
The estimated total of common hidden costs that house buyers in Addis Ababa often overlook can add Br 500,000 to Br 2 million ($3,200 to $13,000 USD, or €2,800 to €11,000 EUR) beyond the headline closing costs.
Typical inspection fees in Addis Ababa range from Br 15,000 to Br 60,000 ($100 to $390 USD, or €85 to €330 EUR), as buyers usually hire an engineer or contractor for a walkthrough and basic systems check since there is no standardized home inspection regime.
Other common hidden costs when buying a house in Addis Ababa include title and lease verification (karta and lease paperwork checks), generator and water storage systems to handle outages, renovation costs for plumbing and electrical upgrades on older houses, and boundary or plot verification for houses with land.
The hidden cost that tends to surprise first-time house buyers the most in Addis Ababa is the need for backup systems like generators and water tanks, which can add Br 200,000 to Br 500,000 ($1,300 to $3,200 USD) that most foreigners do not initially budget for.
You will find here the list of classic mistakes people make when buying a property in Addis Ababa.
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What do locals and expats say about the market in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
Do people think houses are overpriced in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, the general sentiment among locals is that formal market house prices in Addis Ababa feel expensive relative to typical Ethiopian salaries and limited mortgage availability, while expats and diaspora buyers focus more on whether prices reflect true value for the paperwork quality and build standard they are getting.
There is no official citywide "days on market" statistic for Addis Ababa, but the practical expectation is that well-priced homes with clean titles in Bole and Yeka sell relatively quickly, while higher-priced or paperwork-risk properties can sit on the market for many months.
The main reason locals feel house prices are too high in Addis Ababa is the mismatch between asking prices and what a salaried worker can actually finance, given that mortgage products remain limited and deposit requirements are steep.
Compared to one or two years ago, buyer sentiment in Addis Ababa has shifted slightly, with more caution around non-prime areas and stronger demand concentration in the premium expat pockets like Bole and Yeka where documentation tends to be cleaner.
You'll find our latest property market analysis about Addis Ababa here.
Are prices still rising or cooling in Addis Ababa as of 2026?
As of early 2026, house prices in Addis Ababa are best described as supported but uneven, with prime expat areas like Bole and Yeka holding firm, while non-prime areas with paperwork risks are more negotiable and can sit longer unless priced sharply.
There is no official house price index for Addis Ababa, so a precise year-over-year percentage change is not available, but listing-based medians from Ethiopia Property Centre suggest that prime-area prices have remained stable or edged modestly higher over the past 12 months.
Experts and locals expect house prices in Addis Ababa over the next 6 to 12 months to remain supported in premium pockets due to structural supply constraints and steady demand from diaspora and expat buyers, while broader market affordability limits will cap how fast prices can run elsewhere.
Finally, please note that we have covered property price trends and forecasts for Addis Ababa here.
We created this infographic to give you a simple idea of how much it costs to buy property in different parts of Ethiopia. As you can see, it breaks down price ranges and property types for popular cities in the country. We hope this makes it easier to explore your options and understand the market.
What sources have we used to write this blog article?
Whether it's in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our property pack about Addis Ababa, we always rely on the strongest methodology we can, and we don't throw out numbers at random.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we've listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.
| Source | Why it's authoritative | How we used it |
|---|---|---|
| Ethiopia Property Centre (Citywide) | Largest established listing platform in Ethiopia with transparent methodology. | We used it as our main market thermometer for citywide median asking prices. We treated EPC's "average" as the median because they use the median of listed properties. |
| Ethiopia Property Centre (Bole) | Same platform, zoomed into the key sub-city foreigners actually shop in. | We used it to estimate premium pricing in expat-heavy areas. We also used the min/max ranges to size realistic negotiation bands. |
| Ethiopia Property Centre (Yeka) | Consistent dataset for a major residential sub-city in Addis Ababa. | We used it to represent upper-mid to high pricing in the northeast. We compared it with Bole and Arada to map the city's price gradient. |
| Housing Finance Africa (CAHF Yearbook) | Specialist housing finance reference compiling country-level affordability data. | We used it to sanity-check entry-level housing costs against income and finance constraints. We used it as a guardrail so our estimates stay realistic. |
| Miles i Consult | Formal market report from an established consultancy, not a casual blog. | We used it for qualitative market structure insights to explain why price dispersion is huge across Addis Ababa. |
| Addis Ababa Property Tax Proclamation | Actual legal text setting property-related tax rates in Addis Ababa. | We used it to describe how municipal property taxes are structured. We translated the bands into practical annual budget ranges. |
| allaboutETHIO | Compiles Doing Business-style cost breakdown citing Ethiopian proclamations. | We used it to estimate buyer closing costs including notary, authentication, and registration. We cross-checked stamp duty rates with academic sources. |
| JSTOR (Stamp Duty Research) | Academic publication citing underlying Ethiopian proclamations. | We used it to corroborate that buyers pay 2% stamp duty on property transfers under Proclamation 110/1998. |
| Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) | Official utility and source of truth for electricity prices. | We used it to estimate monthly electricity bills based on tiered kWh blocks. We translated the tariff into simple monthly budget ranges. |
| Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority | City's official water utility with direct tariff information. | We used it to set realistic monthly water and sewer budgets. We gave conservative ranges rather than assuming identical household consumption. |
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