Namibia’s rental prices likely to remain muted: expert.

WINDHOEK, July 14 — Namibia’s property rental prices are likely to remain muted for the long haul, given the ailing economy and sluggish demand, an expert said Tuesday.
The First National Bank (FNB) Residential Rental Index posted an annual contraction of 3.1 percent at the end of March 2021, from 0.0 percent a year earlier, FNB Market Research Manager, Frans Uusiku, said.
“The incoming economic data for the first quarter of 2021 mirrors the deteriorating state of the rental market, with GDP growth recorded at -6.5 percent from -2.5 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2020,” he added.
According to Uusiku, a derailed economic recovery appears to have been prolonged by the third wave of COVID-19. He added that a low vaccination rate is poised to keep the rental market in a “coma” on the back of muted demand.
“This would have far-reaching implications for the stability of the financial sector, with potentially unfavorable consequences such as depressed property sales,” he said, adding that “while we do not believe we have effectively reached that state yet, some signs are emerging”.
First National Bank is one of southern Africa’s leading banks. Xinhua