Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2015 | Page 61

NAMIBIA

Namibia’s Increasing
Housing Bidding Wars
Namibia is now ranked fourth globally
in terms of housing-price increases

BY MICHAEL PITSOKOS

A

dearth of housing has driven up home prices
among middle-class buyers in Windhoek,
(population 400,000), the desert-fringed
capital caught in an economic crosscurrent. Dozens
of professional families move into the crowded city
each month, drawn to jobs spurred by the mining and
financial-services industries, and to new shopping
malls and other amenities that offer a comfortable
lifestyle. The increase in population has put a strain
on the limited water and sewage service, which has
resulted in the capping of building expansion.
Namibia, with a population of 2 million, was
ranked fourth globally in 2012 for the biggest housing
price increases, after Hong Kong, Dubai and Brazil.
Although price gains eased a bit in 2013, average prices
still are double what they were six years ago.
The rapid increase in property valuations is pricing
many first-time buyers out of the market and increasing
competition for the meager supply in the $100,000 to
$300,000 bracket that is available. The average home
price in Namibia today is $120,100, six times as high
as the average price in 2000 of $18,800, according to
the FNB data.
How fast midlevel property prices are rising can be
seen on the ground. According to Jannie Erasmus, a
real-estate agent for Andreya Pereira Properties, a
house bought for $116,200 in March 2012 was sold
in February this year for $140,400. A half-year later,
www.reimag.co.za

the property was sold again—for $155,000, with only
minor touch-ups having been preformed inbetween.
But while demand for midlevel homes is on the rise,
the upper end of the property market is oversupplied,
pushing prices lower. Still, high-end houses sell for
as much as $1.2 million, such as an eight-bedroom,
eight-bathroom house on the market through realestate company Pam Golding. A key selling point is
the space. The biggest mansions have architecture that
mimics castles, or have additional buildings on the
property to house staff. A 12,000-square-foot home
with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, was placed
on the market for $366,100.
Windhoek was once the center of German
and apartheid-South Africa colonial rule. After
independence in 1990, the city experienced rapid
growth as people in the rural areas poured into the city,
and investors arrived to mine uranium and diamonds.
Windhoek was designed for about 150,000 residents.
The government is trying to ease the housing shortage.
The president announced plans for several thousand
low-income homes, and the central bank is studying
a regulation to limit speculation by requiring buyers of
second and third properties to put down cash deposits.
For now, Namibia is a difficult market for middle-class
buyers.

RESOURCES

www.tgh.na
OCTOBER 2015 SA Real Estate Investor

59