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07:19Last update on: 13 Aug 2013
The Namibian
Tue 13 Aug 2013
SMS Of The Day * MINISTRY of Gender and Child Welfare, TEARS are rolling down as I write this SMS. The killing of women in Namibia is now like reciting a poem. Are we really getting the protection we deserve while women not being treated as part of this c Food For Thought * SO the Zimbabwe elections were free and peaceful and not free and fair? Bouquets And Brickbats * NURSES at Katutura Hospital must stop wearing those big plastic sandals at work because they are not the official working shoes. We want to see you looking smart and beautiful with your full uniform. SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf
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BUSINESS - ECONOMY
| 2013-08-07
House prices remain high
Chamwe Kaira
THE FNB House Price Index fell by 5,7% in March with prices remaining under pressure since peaking in September last year.
“This was evident across most property markets with the exception of the southern property market,” said Namene Kalili, FNB Namibia manager Research and Competitor Intelligence.
According to Kalili this was based on a short term price movement and that annualised price movements paint a different picture.
“On an annualised basis, house prices have merely decelerated and when inflation is stripped out, real house prices increased by 14,5% year-on-year. This is lower than the 19% recorded in December and the 15% last month. Therefore, the latest figures merely indicate that real house prices are increasing at a slower pace than in previous months and are a long way from deflating. The last time real house prices deflated was 2008/2009 when the economy had double digit inflation,” said Kalili.
The report further said decelerating house prices were underpinned by robust volume growth over the past nine months.
“For the month of March, volumes rose by 25% year-on-year. This is by far the highest volume growth in the housing market since the beginning of 2008, but we must remember this is off a very low base, after volumes contracted from 2008 to 2010. Therefore volumes remain well below the levels measured during 2008 to 2010, but at least there is recovery.
“The volume growth remained highly concentrated in the middle to upper price segments. For the first time in a very long time, new housing supply contributed to the volume growth. In the Windhoek market, new houses accounted for 44% of the volumes sold, up from a mere three percent a year ago,” he said.
Prices in the central region of the country fell by 5,6% month-on-month thus reducing the annualised price movements to 11%, he said.
In Windhoek, Okahandja and Gobabis, price movements were weak across all price segments while figures suggest that house prices are under pressure while at the coast, prices fell by 2,3% month-on-month at a time when they were expected to be seasonally strong.
“This has deflated coastal property prices by 10,9% year-on-year or N$492 000 on average. For March, property prices fell by 10,5% from the previous month in the northern property market. This was the third consecutive month of weakening property prices which were down 9,3% year-on-year.
“House prices in the southern property market remained volatile due to very thin volumes. In the south, house prices increased by 6,1% and was the only property market to show positive growth in prices during March.
Kalili also said annualised property prices continued to decelerate for the third consecutive month on the back of robust volume growth.
“Volume growth was fueled by increased new house delivery, thanks to increased developer activity last year. This has decelerated real house price appreciation from 19% in December to 14,5% in March. We expect real house price appreciation to decelerate even further over the remainder of the year on the back of continued volume growth.
“The lack of housing supply that has dogged the local economy for the past five years is finally adjusting to housing demand which may tame house price inflation for the rest of the year,” Kalili said.
The Knight Frank Global House Price Index rose 6,6% during the first quarter of 2013 with Hong Kong continuing to top the list while China is catching up rather quickly as it had the highest growth over the past three months.
“Namibian house prices increased by two percent, according to the Knight Frank methodology. This would place 19th on the list and a significant drop from the 4th position it occupied in the final quarter of 2012 due to local house prices deflating in US dollar terms over the past three months,” said Kalili.
“This was evident across most property markets with the exception of the southern property market,” said Namene Kalili, FNB Namibia manager Research and Competitor Intelligence.
According to Kalili this was based on a short term price movement and that annualised price movements paint a different picture.
“On an annualised basis, house prices have merely decelerated and when inflation is stripped out, real house prices increased by 14,5% year-on-year. This is lower than the 19% recorded in December and the 15% last month. Therefore, the latest figures merely indicate that real house prices are increasing at a slower pace than in previous months and are a long way from deflating. The last time real house prices deflated was 2008/2009 when the economy had double digit inflation,” said Kalili.
The report further said decelerating house prices were underpinned by robust volume growth over the past nine months.
“For the month of March, volumes rose by 25% year-on-year. This is by far the highest volume growth in the housing market since the beginning of 2008, but we must remember this is off a very low base, after volumes contracted from 2008 to 2010. Therefore volumes remain well below the levels measured during 2008 to 2010, but at least there is recovery.
“The volume growth remained highly concentrated in the middle to upper price segments. For the first time in a very long time, new housing supply contributed to the volume growth. In the Windhoek market, new houses accounted for 44% of the volumes sold, up from a mere three percent a year ago,” he said.
Prices in the central region of the country fell by 5,6% month-on-month thus reducing the annualised price movements to 11%, he said.
In Windhoek, Okahandja and Gobabis, price movements were weak across all price segments while figures suggest that house prices are under pressure while at the coast, prices fell by 2,3% month-on-month at a time when they were expected to be seasonally strong.
“This has deflated coastal property prices by 10,9% year-on-year or N$492 000 on average. For March, property prices fell by 10,5% from the previous month in the northern property market. This was the third consecutive month of weakening property prices which were down 9,3% year-on-year.
“House prices in the southern property market remained volatile due to very thin volumes. In the south, house prices increased by 6,1% and was the only property market to show positive growth in prices during March.
Kalili also said annualised property prices continued to decelerate for the third consecutive month on the back of robust volume growth.
“Volume growth was fueled by increased new house delivery, thanks to increased developer activity last year. This has decelerated real house price appreciation from 19% in December to 14,5% in March. We expect real house price appreciation to decelerate even further over the remainder of the year on the back of continued volume growth.
“The lack of housing supply that has dogged the local economy for the past five years is finally adjusting to housing demand which may tame house price inflation for the rest of the year,” Kalili said.
The Knight Frank Global House Price Index rose 6,6% during the first quarter of 2013 with Hong Kong continuing to top the list while China is catching up rather quickly as it had the highest growth over the past three months.
“Namibian house prices increased by two percent, according to the Knight Frank methodology. This would place 19th on the list and a significant drop from the 4th position it occupied in the final quarter of 2012 due to local house prices deflating in US dollar terms over the past three months,” said Kalili.
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Windhoek
7°
24°
0mm
Walvis Bay
8°
22°
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Oshakati
8°
31°
0mm
Keetmanshoop
1°
17°
0mm
Grootfontein
2°
27°
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Gobabis
5°
24°
0mm
(August 12)
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