A total of 237 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in September, representing a 2.2% m/m increase from the 232 building plans approved in August. In value terms, the approvals were valued at N$149.4 million, a 34.0% m/m decline from the N$226.3 million approved in August. Year-to-date, 1,904 building plans worth N$1.41 billion have been approved, 4.7% y/y higher in number terms and 0.4% higher in value terms than at the same time last year. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, the number of approvals climbed by 1.0% y/y to 2,536 but in value terms declined by 3.8% y/y to N$1.96 billion. 86 building plans worth N$107.5 million were completed in September.
Additions to properties once again made up the largest portion of approvals in both number and value terms. In September, 169 additions to properties were approved valued at N$57.7 million, the same number as last month, but 60.9% m/m lower in value terms. The month-on-month drop in the value of additions was somewhat expected given that last month’s data contained N$100 million worth of additions to the Lady Pohamba Hospital, which was an outlier. Year-to-date 1,262 additions to properties have been approved worth N$700.2 million, representing a 12.1% y/y jump in number terms and a 32.1% y/y increase in value terms. September saw 52 additions worth N$17.8 million completed, slightly down from the previous month.
New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number and value of building plans approved. 62 new residential units were approved in September compared to the 55 recorded in August. In value terms N$48.6 million worth of residential units were approved during the month, representing a 19.0% m/m rise from the N$40.9 million approved in August but declining by 44.1% on a y/y basis. Year to date, 606 residential units valued at N$568.7 million were approved, representing an 8.7% y/y drop in number terms and a 27.3% y/y decline in value terms. The twelve-month cumulative number and value of residential units approved fell for a 6th consecutive month on a year-on-year basis in September. 782 residential units were approved in the last twelve months to September, a 14.3% y/y decline from the 913 units approved in September last year. In value terms, N$824.7 million worth of residential units were approved over the past 12 months, representing a 30.2% y/y drop. 29 New residential units worth N$33.99 million were completed during September, up 78.9% m/m from the N$19.0 million completed in August.
Approvals of commercial and industrial units remained in the single-digit territory as has been the case since February 2020. 6 new commercial and industrial units valued at N$43.1 million were approved in September, the highest value recorded since October last year. Year-to-date, 36 commercial and industrial buildings valued at N$144.2 million were approved up until the end of Q3, compared to the 29 commercial buildings worth N$94.8 million at the end of Q3 2021. This represents a 24.1% y/y jump in number terms and a 52.0% y/y rise in value terms. On a rolling 12-month perspective, 44 commercial and industrial buildings valued at N$220.7 million were approved in September, compared to the 37 approved buildings worth N$149.0 million over the corresponding period a year ago. 5 commercial and industrial units worth N$55.7 million were completed in September, the highest value recorded this year.
The twelve-month cumulative value of both building plans approved and completed fell in nominal, as well as inflation-adjusted, terms in September as reflected in the graphs above and below.
On a 12-month cumulative basis, 2,536 building plans worth N$1.97 billion were approved, representing a 1.0% y/y increase in number terms but a 3.8% y/y drop in value terms. Additions to properties which made up over two-thirds of this number of approvals rose by 9.9% y/y to 1,710, and is trending at levels last seen in late 2018. Encouragingly, the 12-month cumulative number of commercial and industrial building plan approvals have steadily been ticking up over the last couple of months, and has reached the levels last seen in October 2020. The cumulative number of residential unit approvals fell by 14.3% y/y but at 782 remains well above historical levels. The 20-year average 12-month number of plan approvals remained steady at 2,451 in September.
Completed building plans once again saw strong growth in 12-month cumulative value growing by 26.9% y/y to N$971.2 million in September but falling by 23.4% y/y in number terms to 1,057, the lowest 12-month cumulative figure recorded since March 2018.
