The 146 building plans the City of Windhoek approved in May, represent a 15.6% m/m decrease from the 173 building plans approved in April.
However, the approved plans were valued at N$118.1 million, an 11.4% m/m increase from the N$106.0 million approvals in April.
According to a release by IJG, 912 building plans worth N$637.1 million were approved year-to-date, a 9.5% y/y decrease in the number of plans approved and a 21.6% y/y decrease in value terms.
“On a 12-month cumulative basis, 2 355 buildings valued at N$1.79 billion were approved, a 12.3% decrease in the number of plans approved and an 11.3% decrease in value terms over the prior 12-month period,” said the IJG report.
A total of 43 building plans worth N$55.7 million were completed during the month, it added.
In terms of the number and value of plans, additions to properties made up the largest portion of approvals.
IJG says for the month of May, 114 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$67.8 million, the same number of approvals recorded in April.
“The value of the additions approved is 7.7% higher than last month and 22.4% higher than during the same month last year. At least 13 additions worth N$5.9 million were completed during the month,” the report said.
New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number and value of building plans approved with 30 registered in May, 28 fewer than in April.
In value terms N$47.0 million worth of residential units were approved in May, a 10.1% m/m increase. On a year-on-year basis, the value of approvals is however 49.3% lower than registered in May 2021.
On a 12-month cumulative basis, the number of residential units approved decreased by 17.3% y/y to 772, the lowest since February 2021. A total of 29 new residential units worth N$24.8 million were completed in May, said the researchers.
Two new commercial units valued at N$3.4 million were approved in May, compared to one approval in April and four units worth N$25.0 million approved in May 2021.
“Year-to-date there have been 12 commercial building approvals valued at N$42.5 million, which translates to a 25.0% y/y decrease in the number of plans approved and a 16.8% y/y decrease in value terms.”
On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals remained steady at 33 units worth N$162.8 million, compared to the 33 units approved worth N$135.3 million over the corresponding period a year ago.
Only one commercial and industrial unit worth N$25.0 million was completed in May.
“Building plans approved is a leading indicator of economic activity in the country and the above data implies that the Namibian economy is still showing signs of hardship.”
