WINDHOEK – Namibia no longer topped the list of the countries with the most expensive houses in 2014, having moved to the bottom part of the list compiled by Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index.
While Ireland leads the rankings, with prices ending the year 16 percent higher, followed by Turkey, Kazakhstan and Hong Kong, Namibia dropped to the bottom part of the ranking after house prices contracted by 2.8 percent on a quarterly basis on the back of weak economic data and rising interest rates.
According to the Senior Manager Research and Development at FNB Namibia Holdings, Namene Kalili, the Knight Frank’s Global House Price Index dropped by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter against a turbulent political and economic landscape. This represents the index’s weakest performance since the third quarter of 2012.
Although the global economy grew by 3.3 percent in the year, house prices grew by a mere 1.8 percent in 2014 as oil prices slumped, and amid tensions between Greece and the Eurozone, while the Chinese economic outlook and the Ukraine crisis did little to boost homeowner confidence.
Interestingly the just released FNB Housing Index for 2014 also found that house prices have been increasing significantly in various towns across the country, with increases higher than the increase in Windhoek house prices.
Towns that registered house price increases higher than Windhoek include Arandis, Eenhana, Otavi, Ondangwa, and Omaruru.