Formal urban land is market unable to supply adequate residential plot that could
shoulder the prevailing demand from low- and middle-income people and hence, the aim
of the paper was meant to explore the informal land buyers’ expectations of infrastructure
and various related municipal services that they deprive themselves of. A mixed-method
approach was used, combining a survey of 186 respondents in informal land markets,
observation, and focus group discussions with municipal experts. Secondary data from
formal land markets in Dilla municipality from 2017-2023 were analyzed using descriptive
statistics. The result of the study revealed that the pushing factors of informal
land market proliferation in Dilla city is due to the lack of formal land supply from
Dilla municipality which is only 6.6% so that the remaining great majority (97.3%)
of the study area residents expect at least one service (road, water, electricity,
drainage, monitoring services) from Dilla municipality to improve deprivation of basic
infrastructural services, notwithstanding the need of land monitoring services such
as surveying and title deeds. The situations call for design a pro-poor land and housing
policy, adequate compensation during expropriation of farmers for serviced supply
of land, creating awareness about formal land markets, and working in collaboration
with rural counterparts in basis of rural – urban collaboration frameworks.
