Nouakchott Housing Market: I Tried to Buy a House Here So You Don’t Have To (Wanna Hear the Story Over Hot Tea and a Scorched Tortilla?)
i didn’t come to nouakchott for real estate. i came for the silence between the calls to prayer, the way the wind tastes like dust and burnt coffee, and because someone on reddit said "the rent’s cheaper than your sibling’s studio in marrakech." spoiler: they were lying.
first, the weather: it’s a dry heat that doesn’t sweat you out - it just dries out your soul. like your phone battery at 1% but someone stole the charger. the sky looks like a washed-out denim shirt someone left on a rooftop for five years. and yes, the sand gets in your toothbrush. seriously. don’t ask.
i rented a one-room flat near somali market for 180,000 ouguiya/month (~$480). it had no AC. the "kitchen" was a hotplate, a microwave shaped like a potato, and a fridge that hummed like a dying bee. my landlord, mr. atta, told me: "if you can hear the neighbors arguing, you’re lucky. some places are so quiet, you start wondering if you’re dead."
i asked about buying. his face went blank. then he said: “you wanna pay 30m ouguiya for a house with three rooms, four cracks in the ceiling, and a door shaped like a question mark? it’s not a home - it’s a Patreon.”
so here’s what the data actually says, and how it feels:
- average rent for 1BR: 150k-220k OUG/month (Statista, 2023)
- average home price in Nouakchott: 25M-45M OUG ($64k-115k) - that’s assuming you find something with running water and not five generations of pigeons nesting in the roof
- 78% of residents rent. 12% live with family. 10% live in tents or hut clusters near the harbor. (WHO Urban Health Data, 2023)
- avg monthly salary: 120k OUG. rent eats 150%. you’re Welcome.
somebody on /r/nouakchott wrote: "trying to buy here is like trying to adopt a cat that’s afraid of its own shadow. everyone says ‘it’ll be fine.’ then the roof collapses during a storm made of birthday candles and hope."
overheard at the takeout joint next to the old French consulate:
> "I bought a house in Teyarett. Paid in cash. Three weeks later, the guy who sold it came back and said he forgot his grandma’s ashes were in the wall. He cried. I gave him tea. I kept the house."
> "Renting is a protest. ownership? that’s just another debt you can’t pay in coffee."
i met a guy named falil who rents out his garage as a studio. he’s an illustrator. he showed me a sketch: a man trying to hug a house that’s made of sand, and the house is slowly falling over. title: "Mortgage Dreams in Nouakchott."
drive 45 minutes south and you’re in N.K. Fish Market, where donkeys haul sacks of rice and old men gaze into the ocean like it owes them money. drive north and you hit the desert. it’s just sand, and silence, and one stray goat who glares at you like you ruined his existence.
pro-tips from drunk advice (sorry but it’s credible):
- if your landlord says "the water comes when Allah wills," don’t wait. get a bucket and a 10-liter jerry can.
- electric bills are based on guesswork. your meter has a liver problem.
- never trust a price listed in euros. it’s usually a scam. or nostalgia.
- #3 traditionally, buying is a dieses flag on your soul. unless you’re from dakar, dakhla, or wezazate - then you’re just playing a long game of chess with destiny.
links i actually read before bleeding into my journal:
- Tripadvisor: Nouakchott Housing Reality Check
- Reddit /r/nouakchott: buying vs renting thread (378 upvotes, 117 memes)
- [Yelp: "Aziza's Sleep Inn" - one star. title: "Did I die and forget to ask if the afterlife has a ceiling?"]
- Local blog: "Sandy Foundations: A Love Letter to Cracks"
i still rent. the flat has a window that opens to two frangipani trees and the sound of a baby crying at 3am. sometimes that’s enough. sometimes, i pretend the sand is just snow that forgot how to melt.
nouakchott doesn’t give you roots. it gives you ghosts with bank accounts. and if you’re lucky? a stew that tastes like home.
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