Owning a house is becoming more difficult for many Namibians as property prices continue to rise faster than incomes. The latest First National Bank Namibia House Price Index for the first quarter of 2026 shows that the average house in Namibia now costs N$1.44 million, up from N$1.34 million recorded in the same period last year.
The report shows that house prices grew by 7.1% over the past year. Although this is lower than the 9.4% growth recorded in the first quarter of 2025, homes remain out of reach for many working Namibians.
FNB Namibia Market Research Manager Mandisa Van Wyk stated that the housing market continues to be driven by a shortage of housing and strong buyer demand.
“Persistent demand-supply imbalances remain supportive of house price inflation,” Van Wyk stated in FNB’s latest report.
This means there are not enough houses available while demand for homes remains high, which continues to push up prices.
However, while house prices are rising, many Namibians are not seeing the same growth in their salaries. The report states that unemployment, slow wage growth and the high cost of living are making it harder for ordinary people to qualify for home loans.
“This divergence underscores ongoing structural constraints in the market, particularly elevated unemployment and muted real wage growth,” Van Wyk explained.
Meanwhile, mortgage lending grew by only 1.9% in March this year, indicating that fewer people are securing financing from banks. The report paints a picture of a housing market increasingly controlled by wealthy buyers and cash-strapped investors.
“Market activity appears increasingly concentrated among cash-rich buyers, including foreign investors and domestic purchasers with substantial equity buffers,” Van Wyk added, elaborating that many middle-income earners and first-time buyers are slowly being pushed out of the property market.
On the regional front, the coast recorded the strongest growth in house prices at 10.6%, followed by the central region, including Windhoek, at 7.6%. The central region remains the country’s most expensive housing market, with the average house now costing N$1.826 million.
At the coast, the average house costs N$1.578 million, while homes in the northern and southern regions average N$961 000 and N$880 000, respectively.
Compared with the first quarter of last year, the northern and southern regions experienced significant slowdowns.
House price growth in the north dropped sharply from 12.1% last year to just 0.4% this year. In the south, prices moved from 2.5% growth last year to a 0.7% decline this year.
The report also highlights another growing concern: Namibia is still not building enough houses. Delays in land servicing, rising construction costs, and slow housing development continue to limit the supply of new homes. As a result, prices remain high while affordable housing becomes harder to find. Van Wyk warned that unless more land is serviced, more houses are built, and the economy improves, the housing crisis could deepen further.
“Absent such interventions, the housing market is likely to remain characterised by price-led growth rather than a broad-based expansion in housing access,” she cautioned.
-pmukokobi@nepc.com.na