Namibia's cost of land and building construction remains very high: research

The cost of land and building construction in Namibia remains very high, which has caused affordability of a basic house for the low and middle income earners to be problematic, according to Baronice Hans, managing director at Bank Windhoek.

Hans recently said that the property market in Namibia experienced mixed growth, with a decline in demand in the high-end market with a price range above 183,000 U.S. dollars, while there is a strong price growth in the middle and lower segment of the market.

"However, volume growth in the middle and lower segments remained poor due to high input cost and service delivery," she added.

According to Hans, the availability of serviced land remains a challenge, which has also been highlighted in the Harambee Prosperity Plan under the pillars of Social Progression and Infrastructure Development, whereby thousands of serviced plots will be available in all towns within the next few years.

Furthermore, the problem of housing has also been coupled by the current drought, which Hans said should not be overlooked, as it has also threatened to cripple the construction sector due to water saving measures.

Meanwhile, Hans said that the sword of rent control and redistribution of land also hangs above the heads of property developers, owners and estate agents, as the impact of this on the housing industry is currently unclear.

"Two new laws to regulate property ownership, namely the Estate Agents and Property Developer Bill and the Land Bill are still on the agenda for Parliament to discuss before the end of this year," she added.

Hans said while the economy grew by 5.7 percent in 2015, growth is set to slow going forward, constrained by a slowdown in construction activity, a deteriorating fiscal position, an uncertain policy environment, and slowdown in major trading partners such as Angola and South Africa. Endit