Category Archives: Economic Research

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.

A total of 169 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in March, representing a 17.6% m/m decrease from the 205 building plans approved in February. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$142.5 million, a decrease of N$82.4 million compared to last month. The number of completions for the month of March stood at 275, valued at N$218.4 million. The year-to-date value of approved building plans reached N$556.7 million, 3.1% lower than in the first quarter of 2019. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,035 building plans have been approved as at the end of March, a decrease of 7.2% y/y. The 12-month cumulative value of plans approved reached approximately N$1.97 billion, a decrease of 0.5% y/y.

Additions to properties made up 154 of the total 169 approved building plans recorded in March. This is a 6.1% m/m decrease in additions from the 164 additions recorded in February. In the first quarter of the year 416 additions to properties have been approved with a value of N$172.9 million, a 28.2% y/y drop in terms of value. 241 additions worth N$190.0 million were completed during the month.

Only 10 new residential units were approved in March, 18 units fewer than in February and the lowest number of approvals in a single month since December 2015. In value terms, N$10.5 million worth of residential units were approved in March, 90.3% less than the N$108.6 million worth of residential approvals in February. 55 New residential units have been approved in the first quarter of 2020, 38.2% less than during the corresponding period in 2019. The year-to-date value of residential approvals reached N$136.9 million, 43.3% lower than during the first quarter of 2019. 33 new residential units worth N$22.9 million were completed during the month.

Commercial and industrial building plans approved in March amounted to 5 units, worth N$89.1 million. This is 8 units fewer than approved in the prior month, but an increase of 306.2% m/m and 1,355.1% y/y in value terms, although this is from a low base. Year-to-date, 24 plans for commercial and industrial purposes have been approved, valued at N$247.0 million. On a rolling 12-month perspective the number of commercial and industrial approvals have increased to 63 units as at March, compared to the 38 approved over the corresponding period a year ago. One commercial and industrial unit worth N$5.5 million was completed in March.

Building plan approvals for Q1 of 2020 remained more or less in line with Q1 2019 with three more approvals in Q1 2020 compared to 2019, but a decrease of 3.1% y/y in terms of value at N$556.7 million. This data precedes the lockdown restrictions imposed by government.

A total of 205 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in February, 84 more than in January. In value terms, approvals rose by N$35.4 million to N$224.8 million in February from N$189.4 million worth of approvals in January. A total of 34 building plans were completed at a value of N$41.5 million in February. Year-to-date, N$414.2 million worth of building plans have been approved. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,024 building plans were approved worth approximately N$1.96 billion, 1.2% higher in value terms than cumulative approvals in February 2019.

The largest number of building plan approvals in February were made up of additions to properties. 164 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$94.3 million, 18.4% less in value terms than in February 2019. Year-to-date 262 additions to properties have been approved with a value of N$129.9 million, a 13.5% y/y decline in value terms. 13 additions worth N$9.1 million were completed during the month.

New residential units accounted for 28 of the total 205 approvals registered in February, 11 more than the 17 residential units approved in January. In value terms, N$108.6 million worth of residential units were approved in February, 511.5% more than the N$17.8 million worth of residential approvals in January. It should however be noted that one of these residential approvals is a N$71.0 million project. Year-to-date 45 residential units have been approved, 16 fewer than during the corresponding period in 2019. In monetary terms, N$126.4 million worth of new residential plans have been approved year-to-date, a decrease of 39.6% when compared to the corresponding period last year. 21 new residential units worth N$32.4 million were completed during the month.

13 New commercial units valued at N$21.9 million were approved in February, bringing the year-to-date number of approvals to 19, worth a total of N$157.9 million. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals have increased to 61 units worth N$647.3 million as at February, compared to the 39 approved units worth N$449.0 million over the corresponding period a year ago. No commercial and industrial units were completed in February.

In the last 12 months, 2,024 building plans have been approved, down 6.5% y/y in terms of number of approvals, but up 1.2% y/y in terms of value. Year-to-date, the total value of building plan approvals was down 7.1% y/y from the corresponding period in 2019.