Category Archives: Building Plans

A total of 245 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in July, 25 fewer than in June. In monetary terms, approvals decreased by N$32.6 million to N$141.1 million, an 18.8% m/m decline from June. The number of completions for the month of July stood at 253, valued at N$328.2 million. Year-to-date, N$966.3 million worth of building plans have been approved. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,007 building plans were approved worth approximately N$1.96 billion, 6.9% higher in value terms than cumulative approvals as at July 2019.

The largest number of building plan approvals in July were made up of additions to properties. 171 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$60.0 million, 17.7% less in value terms than in July 2019. We continue to see more additions to properties being approved but with a lower overall value being added. Year-to-date 860 additions to properties have been approved with a value of N$389.8 million, a 10.4% y/y decline in value terms. 51 additions worth N$24.6 million were completed during the month.

New residential units accounted for 71 of the total 245 approvals registered in July, 5 fewer than the 76 residential units approved in June. In value terms, N$72.3 million worth of residential units were approved in July, which is in line with the value of residential approvals in June. Year-to-date 230 residential units have been approved, 14 more than during the corresponding period in 2019. In monetary terms, N$315.6 million worth of new residential plans have been approved year-to-date, a decrease of 11.3% when compared to the corresponding period last year. This indicates that while more residential units are planned to be built, it will be smaller or lower valued units than approved in the same period last year. 198 new residential units worth N$291.7 million were completed during the month.

Commercial and industrial building plans approved in July amounted to 3 units, worth N$8.8 million. On a year-to-date basis, the number of commercial and industrial approvals increased by 34.8% y/y in July to 31 units, worth approximately N$261.0 million, an increase of 25.1% y/y in value terms over the period ending July 2019. 4 commercial and industrial units worth N$11.9 million were completed during July.

During the last 12 months, 2,007 building plans have been approved, decreasing by 0.3% y/y in terms of number of approvals, but increasing by 6.9% y/y in terms of value. While there has been a slight up-tick in cumulative approvals over the last 3 months, the growth was driven mainly by approvals in additions to properties and new residential units which are of lower relative value. Growth in commercial and industrial construction activity remains extremely subdued.

City of Windhoek’s data shows that the average waiting period from submission to approval for residential and commercial units was 137 days, meaning that most of the submissions were done just before the lockdown period. It thus remains to be seen how many of these approvals will result in actual building activity as both businesses and consumers are still recovering from the impact of the lockdowns and are unlikely to still be in the financial position to go ahead with these building projects. We expect construction activity to remain under pressure over the short-term.

A total of 270 building plans were approved in June by the City of Windhoek, 159 more than in May. In value terms, approvals increased by N$78.9 million to N$173.7 million, an 83.2% m/m increase from May. A total of 289 completions to the value of N$192.1 million were recorded in June. Year-to-date 876 plans have been approved, 89 fewer than the 965 plans approved over the same period last year. The year-to-date value of approved building plans currently stands at N$825.2 million, which is 6.8% lower than during the first half of 2019. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 1,943 building plans were approved worth approximately N$1.93 billion, equal in value terms compared to the same period in 2019.

The majority of the number of building plan approvals were made up of additions to properties. For the month of June, 190 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$96.2 million. Year-to-date 689 additions to properties have been approved with a total value of N$329.8 million, falling by 9.3% y/y in terms of number of approvals and 9.0% y/y in terms of value of additions. 203 additions to properties worth N$95.7 million were completed during the month.

New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number of building plans approved with 76 approvals registered in June, 48 more than in May. In value terms, N$72.3 million worth of residential units were approved in June, an increase of 112% m/m and 321.5% y/y. In the first half of 2020, 159 new residential units were approved worth N$243.3 million, representing a 14.1% y/y decrease in number and 28.1% y/y decrease in value. On a 12-month cumulative basis the number of additions approved has decreased by 31.3% y/y as well as by 15.4% y/y in value terms. 84 new residential units worth N$93.9 million were completed during the month.

4 new commercial units valued at N$5.3 million were approved in June, bringing the year-to-date number of commercial and industrial approvals to 28, worth a total of N$252.2 million. This is 40.0% up in number terms from June last year and 36.4% y/y in value terms. On a rolling 12-month basis, the number of commercial and industrial approvals have risen to 55 units worth N$643.0 million, compared to 44 units worth N$522.3 million during the corresponding period a year ago. 2 commercial and industrial units worth N$2.5 million were completed during June.

The number of both building plan approvals and completions came in slightly above our expectations during the month and this is somewhat encouraging. This does however not indicate that there will be a significant increase in construction activity in the coming months. City of Windhoek’s data shows that the average waiting period from submission to approval was 118 days, meaning that most of the submissions were done before the lockdown period. It thus remains to be seen how many of these approvals will result in actual building activity as both businesses and consumers are still recovering from the impact of the lockdowns and are unlikely to still be in the financial position to go ahead with these building projects.

A total of 111 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in May, which is 58 fewer than the 169 approvals in March. In value terms, approvals declined by N$47.6 million to N$94.8 million, a 33.4% decrease from March. No building plans were approved or completed during April. A total of 208 building plans were completed during the month with a value of N$103.7 million. Year-to-date, N$651.5 million worth of building plans have been approved, 21.0% less in value than during the corresponding period in 2019. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 1,817 building plans have been approved worth approximately N$1.82 billion, 9.5% lower in value terms than cumulative approvals in May 2019.

83 additions to properties were approved in May with a value of N$60.7 million, an increase of 41.5% in terms of value from the additions approved in March and 78.0% y/y higher than May 2019. Year-to-date 499 additions to properties have been approved with a total value of N$233.6 million, a decrease of 22.4% y/y in number and a decrease of 30.1% y/y in value terms. On a 12-month cumulative basis, the number of additions approved has declined by 9.8% y/y and 17.1% y/y in value terms. During the month 161 additions have been completed with a combined value of N$53.9 million.

New residential units accounted for 28 of the approvals registered in May, 18 more than in March, but 14 fewer than in May 2019. In value terms, N$34.1 million worth of residential units were approved in May, up 225.1% m/m (from March), but down 25.7% y/y. Year-to-date residential unit approvals have dropped by 49.1% y/y in number terms and 46.7% in value. The 12-month cumulative residential approvals paint a similar picture, recording a 46.1% y/y decrease in number of approvals and 28.0% y/y decrease in value. As building plan approvals are a leading indicator it points to diminishing construction activity going forward, albeit in the residential space. 46 new residential units worth N$49.8 million were completed during the month.

For the first time since July 2018 there were no approvals for commercial and industrial building plans (excluding the lockdown in April). The lack of approvals in May is somewhat unsurprising given that businesses were severely hit by the lockdown with few financially able to invest in capital investment projects. On a 12-month cumulative basis, the number of commercial and industrial approvals has increased by 36.6% y/y in May to 56 units, worth approximately N$652.9 million, an increase of 27.0% in value terms over the prior 12-month period. One commercial and industrial unit worth N$30,000 was completed during May.

Building plan approvals were unsurprisingly low in May as the country’s lockdown restrictions were somewhat lifted. Consumers and businesses have both been adversely affected by the lockdown with few still financially able to invest in capital expansion projects.