A total of 296 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek during July, representing a 30.4% m/m increase from the 227 building plans approved in June. In value terms, the approvals were valued at N$282.0 million, an increase of 138.5% m/m from a downward revised N$118.2 million in June. Year-to-date 1,435 building plans were approved worth N$1.04 billion, increasing by 7.2% y/y in number terms but declining 4.6% y/y in value terms. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,548 buildings with a combined value of N$1.91 billion were approved, rising by 2.0% y/y in terms of the number of plans approved but declining 3.1% y/y in value terms over the prior 12-month period. 79 building plans worth N$51.2 million were completed during July.
Additions to properties continue to make up the lion’s share of building plans approvals in both number and value terms, as has been the case since the beginning of the year. 179 additions to properties worth N$107.1 million were approved in July, increasing by 17.0% m/m in number terms and 121.2% m/m in value terms from a downward revised N$48.4 million in June. 46 Additions worth N$6.83 million were completed during July.
New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number and value of building plans approved with 112 approvals recorded in July, compared to 69 in June. In value terms, N$168.8 million worth of residential units were approved during the month, a 206.9% m/m increase from June and the highest value since October 2020. On a year-on-year basis, the value of residential unit approvals increased by 110.0%, ending six consecutive months of declines. On a 12-month cumulative basis, residential unit approvals continued to fall, declining by 8.9% y/y in number terms and 19.0% y/y in value terms. 32 New residential units worth N$41.39 million were completed during July, a 30.2% m/m increase in terms of the value, despite declining by 31.9% m/m in terms of the number of units completed.
The number of new commercial and industrial unit approvals remained steady from last month. 5 New commercial units worth N$6.1 million were approved in July, declining 58.9% m/m from the N$14.8 million recorded last month. Year-to-date there have been 22 commercial building approvals worth N$63.4 million, which translates to a 5.9% y/y decline in the value of approvals, despite the number of commercial plan approvals being 10.0% higher y/y. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals increased to 39 units worth N$167.4 million, compared to the 30 units approved worth N$137.6 million over the same period a year ago. Only 1 commercial and industrial unit worth N$3.0 million was completed in July.
The twelve-month cumulative value of both building plans approved and completed ended a 5-months long downward trend both in nominal and inflation-adjusted terms as illustrated in the figures above and below. Despite this uptick, the twelve-month cumulative value of plans approved and completed contracted when compared to the corresponding period a year ago. The twelve-month cumulative value of plans approved declined by 3.1% y/y to N$1.91 billion as noted above, while the cumulative value of plans completed dropped by 6.9% y/y to N$1.01 billion. The twelve-month cumulative number of plans approved at 2,548 is above the twenty-year historical average of 2,447.
