City of Windhoek approved 235 building plans in August
The City of Windhoek approved a total of 235 building plans in August, 10 fewer than in July. In value terms approvals fell by N$29.2 million to N$111.9 million.
In the last 12 months 2,049 building plans have been approved, increasing by 5.8%. These approvals were worth a combined N$1.94 billion, an increase in value of 25.3%.
While this sounds like a strong recovery, the increase is mostly as a result of base effects as a result of very little building activity in 2019. Researchers from IJG Research noted on an inflation-adjusted basis, the 12-month cumulative value of approvals is still going down steadily and currently trends at levels last seen in 2010.
The completions data also paints a particularly positive picture when judged at face value. Delving a bit deeper into the numbers however shows that 140 of the 275 completed buildings in August were at Omeya.
“In our opinion it is unlikely that such a high number of buildings were completed in the month, and could simply be due to the City of Windhoek catching up on its backlog. Going forward we expect lower value additions to properties to continue making up the majority of approvals,” IJG said.
Caption: On an inflation-adjusted basis, the 12-month cumulative value of approvals is still going down steadily.
