By: Nghiinomenwa Erastus
Regional prices of houses assessed through a national weighted average indicate that for you to own a house in Namibia, be prepared to pay more or less N$1,22 million.
This is an increase of N$19 392 from a year earlier by the end of the third quarter of 2021.
The FNB Residential Property Report for the third quarter of 2021, as prepared by Frans Uusiku, is highlighted.
The report also indicated that the House Price Index had hit a 5-year double-digit growth record of 10,9% year-on-year in September 2021, up from 2,0% year-on-year in September 2020 – a double-digit growth for the first time since 2016.
The report uses bond values registered by individuals as a proxy for house prices since there are no consistent records for house prices in Namibia, while volume traded was used as a weight.
The assessment indicated that those planning to buy a luxury house in Namibia at least prepare to spend around N$14,6 million, as indicated by the end of the third quarter sale prices.
According to the report, if you cannot afford a luxury house, then there is the large house segment, where one can get a property for around N$4,4 million.
Below the large house segment, there is the medium segment with houses costing between N$1,5 million and N$3,5 million. According to the report, on average, the houses in this segment were going for around N$2,1 million.
The last segment is the segment of the tiny house, houses in this category command between N$500 000 to N$1,5 million- according to the third quarter’s sales data, houses in this category averaged at N$860 000.
Regional wise, the report indicated that a house is cheaper on the southern side compared to 12 months ago, after a decline of 30,4%- with prices averaging at N$786 000 in southern towns.
In terms of low prices, the south is followed by northern towns, where the average house price was calculated at N$867 by the end of the third quarter of 2021.
It recorded a decline of 15,7% compared to 12 months ago.
The FNB residential property report revealed that a house in the coastal area commanded around N$1,3 million by the end of the third quarter representing a 15% increase from last year.
While for the central region, by the end of the third quarter of 2021, house prices averaged at N$1,5 million, 15% more costly than a year ago.
The report analysis underpinned the housing market’s performance on supply-side factors such as shortage of affordable properties coupled with fierce competition amongst banks in keeping mortgage rates as low as possible.
It also added that young professionals also are playing an important role in driving sales activity in the lower end of the market – especially in the central region.
“While the buy-to-let investors innately dominate the large to the higher end of the market, read the report.
The report also explained that the elevated house price index growth was foreseeable given the notable upsurge in residential mortgage loans, showing an average year-on-year growth of 4,6% on a year-to-date basis.
Compared to a 3,5% realized over the corresponding period of 2020.
This is also the highest average growth level since 2017 at the beginning of the monetary policy easing cycle.
Although most pundits expect the interest rates hiking cycle to resume heading into 2022 – with the South African Reserve Bank starting with 25 basis points in November 2021, the Bank of Namibia has nonetheless decided to keep its repo rate unchanged at 3,75% this month.
The report has also highlighted that the Namibian housing market appears to be at an inflexion point, where pent-up demand and low-interest rates are expected to keep sales activity at elevated levels as the economy continues to recover.
On the downside, the FNB research pointed out that economic confidence may be dented by the emergence of the new Omicron virus variant. However, it remains far too early to speculate on any long-term impact, given insufficient data at this stage. Email: erastus@thevillager.com.na
