The Addis Abeba Housing Development Corporation opened an auction to the public for the purchase of 3,452 housing units and 306 shops last week. Revenues from the sale will be used to finance the construction of additional real estate developments, according to Shimeles Tamerat, head of the corporation. He suggested a strategic shift in financing from reliance on the issuance of bonds to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia as the Corporation struggles to juggle a severe debt burden. The Corporation has managed to pay off close to 36 billion Br of its debt while it is currently struggling to unburden itself of nearly the same amount. "The debt stock has seriously impacted us," Shimeles stated. The houses will be open for bids for a 23-day window across the eleven district branches of the Corporation starting this week, with tender documents fetching 1,000 Br. The Corporation has transferred 317,000 condominium houses from 321,089 built until November of last year to prospective homeowners. A sharp rise in population size across the capital has fueled a steep hike in the rental prices of housing units and pushed premium real estate locations out of the financial reach of most urbanites.