The City of Windhoek rubber stamped 119 building plans in June, the lowest for the year and 55.9% lower than the 187 approvals in May. The value of the approvals fell by 25.7% m/m to N$128.4 million, compared to the N$173.0 million recorded in May. The first half of 2021 has seen 1,127 approvals, valued at N$941.5 million, 28.7% higher in number terms and 14.1% higher in value terms, than during the same period last year. The increase is however from a low base, following the strict lockdown measures early last year. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, building plan approvals rose by 30.4% y/y to 2,533, while the value of approvals rose 1.9% y/y to N$1.97 billion. A total of 124 completions to the value of N$58.6 million were recorded in June. Year-to-date, 802 building plans, valued at N$425.1 million have been completed this year, representing a 4.4% decline in number terms, and a 25.7% contraction in value terms, compared to the same period a year-ago, when construction activity halted for one out of the first six months.
In terms of the number of approvals, additions to properties once again made up the majority of approvals. Only 65 additions, worth N$35.1 million were approved in June, representing a third consecutive month of decline in both number and value terms. 73 additions worth N$16.6 million were completed in June, representing a decrease in value of 40.8% m/m.
New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number of building plans approved with 51 approvals registered in June, 27 fewer than in May. In value terms, N$77.3 million worth of residential units were approved in June, a decrease of 16.5% m/m, but an increase of 6.9% y/y. In the first half of 2021, 427 new residential units were approved worth N$530.4 million, representing a 168.6% y/y increase in number and 118.0% y/y increase in value. This increase is however from a very low base, and shows just how severe last year’s contraction was. On a 12-month cumulative basis the number of additions approved has increased by 176.0% y/y as well as by 103.4% y/y in value terms. 51 new residential units worth N$41.9 million were completed during the month.
Three commercial units, valued at N$16.0 million got the nod in June, translating to a 16.5% m/m decrease in value terms. Nineteen commercial buildings, valued at N$67.1 million were approved in the first half of 2021. Despite the 32 approvals, valued at N$146.1 million in the last 12 months, no commercial units were completed for the third consecutive month. Year-to-date, commercial and industrial completions have accounted for 1.3% of the total value of completions, cementing the first half of 2021 as the worst 6 months in the last 31 years.
The 12-month cumulative number of building plans approved increased by 30.4% y/y in June, although the increase came from a low base. A total of 2,533 building plans to the value of N$1.97 billion were approved over the last 12 months, representing an increase in value of 1.9% y/y. Additions to properties have made up 62.9% of the cumulative number of approvals, but only 36.2% of the total value of approvals. Completed building plans increased 9.5% y/y in value terms to N$1.39 billion on a 12-month cumulative basis in June. Overall, each sub-category of completions as well as approvals experienced contractions in number terms compared to last month, indicating that construction activity will remain subdued over the short- to medium term.
