About 70% of Namibians can no longer afford formal housing as soaring property prices, weak income growth and limited access to mortgage finance continue to push home ownership beyond the reach of most households.
The warning emerged during a housing research seminar hosted by the Bank of Namibia, where policymakers, economists and banking executives painted a bleak picture of a housing market increasingly dominated by wealthier and cash-backed buyers.
Deputy Director of Policy Research at the central bank, Abigail Nainda, said Namibia’s housing backlog has exploded from around 80,000 households in 2007 to approximately 300,000 housing units by 2025, particularly affecting low and middle-income earners.
Nainda said average house prices have risen sharply over the past two decades, climbing from below N$200,000 in 2000 to around N$783,000 in 2010 before surging further to between N$1.3 million and N$1.4 million in recent years.
“Approximately 70% of the population cannot afford formal housing due to low incomes and limited mortgage access. That was the finding back then,” Nainda said.
The latest First National Bank Namibia Housing Index presented during the seminar showed that the national weighted average house price rose to approximately N$1.44 million during the first quarter of 2026.
Chief Executive Officer of Retail Banking at FNB Namibia, Mbo Luvindao, said affordability pressures have intensified as wages continue to lag behind property price growth.
According to FNB Namibia, about 75% of the country’s workforce earns less than N$5,000 per month, effectively excluding the majority of Namibians from the formal housing market.
“The data indicates that approximately 75% of Namibia’s workforce earned less than N$5,000 on a monthly basis. This basically places most Namibian households outside the formal housing market,” Luvindao said.
He said the market is increasingly being driven by equity-backed, cash-rich and foreign buyers, particularly in the central and coastal regions.
FNB Namibia data further showed that houses priced below N$500,000, which once accounted for more than 80% of registered mortgage bonds in 2007, now make up only about 25% of the market.
“The average value of small-segment houses now stands at around N$900,000, while medium-segment homes average N$2.1 million. Large-segment houses average N$4.4 million and luxury homes nearly N$8.7 million,” Luvindao said.
Governor of the Bank of Namibia, Ebson Uanguta, warned that formal home ownership is rapidly becoming unattainable for ordinary Namibians.
“The latest FNB Housing Index shows that the average house price in Windhoek has surpassed N$1.4 million, placing formal home ownership increasingly beyond the reach of many Namibians,” Uanguta said.
The affordability crisis is also pushing more households into the rental market, increasing pressure on already stretched urban housing systems.
Executive Director at the National Planning Commission, Sylvester Mbangu, said rapid urbanisation, rising construction costs and continued migration to towns and cities are worsening the crisis.
“Rapid urbanisation, rising construction costs, affordability constraints, and sustained migration to urban centres are placing increasing strain on housing delivery systems across the country,” Mbangu said.
Government aims to construct 55,000 houses and service 50,000 plots under the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6), while reducing the proportion of households living in informal settlements from 28% to 14% by 2030.
