Building sector maintains its recovery trajectory into July
Namibia's building sector maintained its recovery trajectory into July, with combined plan approvals across Windhoek and Swakopmund reaching 325 units and total approved project values of N$300.1 million.
Namibia’s building sector maintained its recovery trajectory into July, with combined plan approvals across Windhoek and Swakopmund reaching 325 units and total approved project values of N$300.1 million.
The macro backdrop remains largely unchanged from June since the Bank of Namibia held its repo rate at 6.75% following the quarter point hike in June, and private sector credit extension to households continues to reflect affordability headwinds that constrain average project sizes.
Within this environment, July’s approval volumes represent the second-highest monthly reading in 2026 for Windhoek, highlighting that the volume recovery is durable even as average values remain compressed relative to the distorted 2025 base.
Data in Windhoek indicates that 244 building plans were approved in July, a 23.9% month-on-month increase from 197 in June and 6.5% below the 261 approvals recorded in July 2025.
The value of approved plans reached N$206.4 million, up 4.3% month-on-month from N$197.8 million in June and 15.8% higher year-on-year from N$178.2 million in July 2025.
The implied average value per approved plan moderated to approximately N$846 000 from N$1 million in June, consistent with the sector’s sustained shift toward smaller residential and additions-type projects.
Completions in July totalled 24 projects valued at N$33.8 million, a month-on-month decline from June’s 25 completions worth N$54.6 million, reinforcing the structural gap between approval throughput and on-the-ground delivery.
On a year-to-date basis through July, Windhoek has recorded 1 245 approved building plans, 4.3% ahead of the 1 194 approvals over the equivalent period in 2025.
Cumulative approval values stand at N$998.2 million, against N$1,9 billion through July 2025, though the prior-year figure is substantially inflated by the single N$1 billion commercial project approved in March 2025.
Swakopmund recorded 81 building plans approved in July 2026, a 3.8% month-on-month increase from 78 in June but an 18.2% year-on-year decline from 99 in July 2025.
Approval values rose to N$93.8 million, up 33.3% month-on-month from N$70.3 million in June but 6.5% below the N$100.2 million recorded in July 2025.
Completions in July totalled 58 projects valued at N$38.7 million, compared with 61 completions worth N$52.3 million in June.
On a year-to-date basis through July, Swakopmund has approved 534 plans valued at N$551.8 million, against 464 plans worth N$459.8 million over the same period in 2025, representing year-on-year gains of 15.1% in volume and 19.9% in value, significantly outpacing Windhoek on both measures.
