Mortgage market stalls as household lending plateaus
Namibia’s total mortgage market — covering housing lending — is valued at around N$59 billion and is showing signs of strain, with household lending plateauing despite continued dominance by First National Bank Namibia and Bank Windhoek.
The household segment, estimated at roughly two-thirds of total mortgage credit — implying around N$40 billion-plus based on central bank credit data — remains concentrated among the country’s four largest banks, with Standard Bank and Nedbank holding smaller but significant shares.
According to FirstRand Namibia’s audited financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2024, mortgage lending stood at approximately N$16 billion, accounting for about 45% of total advances.
The group’s integrated annual report for the year ended 30 June 2025, released in September 2025, further indicates that retail secured lending — which includes mortgages — remains the largest component of its loan book, noting that “secured lending continues to represent a significant portion of the portfolio”.
Figures published in Bank Windhoek’s annual report for the year ended 30 June 2024, released in September 2024, show that total gross loans and advances amounted to approximately N$39 billion, of which mortgage loans accounted for about N$18.1 billion, representing roughly 46% of the loan book.
The bank states that “mortgage loans remain the largest component of advances”.
Standard Bank Namibia, in its results for the year ended 31 December 2024, released in March 2025, reported that loans and advances grew by about 10%.
Although the bank does not separately disclose mortgage lending, it noted that “credit impairments improved due to the regularisation of certain home loan exposures”.
In its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025, released in August 2025, Standard Bank Namibia added that lending activity “started slower than anticipated”.
At a system level, the Bank of Namibia states in its Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2024, released in April 2025, that mortgage lending accounted for 39.8% of total credit, while housing loans accounted for 67.6% of household debt.
The central bank further reports in its Financial Stability Report that total mortgage credit stood at approximately N$59.1 billion, before easing slightly to around N$59.0 billion, reflecting a -0.32% annual contraction, compared to +0.63% growth in 2024.
The trend is consistent with international assessments, including the International Monetary Fund's June 2025 Article IV consultation, which stated that “a significant share of bank credit in Namibia is allocated to household mortgages”.
Lending stabilising
This is reflected in Bank of Namibia data, which show that mortgages account for 39.8% of total credit and 67.6% of household debt, with total mortgage lending stabilising at around N$59 billion.
Mortgage lending expanded by about 3% in 2023, slowed to below 1% in 2024, and turned slightly negative in 2025.
The National Housing Enterprise, in its Integrated Strategic Business Plan 2024/25–2028/29, estimates a backlog of approximately 300,000 housing units, requiring about N$76 billion to address.
The enterprise attributes the crisis to “limited serviced land, high construction costs and inadequate funding”, while demand continues to outstrip supply, with more than 120 000 applicants on its housing waiting list.
Affordability remains a key constraint.
According to Housing Finance Africa’s 2025 Namibia profile, a typical formal house costs about N$1.2 million, requiring a monthly income of around N$36 000 to qualify for a mortgage.
This helps explain why a significant share of the population remains excluded from formal housing.
The Economic Association of Namibia estimates that a large share of Namibians cannot afford formal housing, while informal housing remains widespread, particularly in urban areas, with between 40% and 45% of households unable to afford formal housing.
