Economist Martin Mwinga has called for sweeping reforms to Namibia's housing sector, warning in a policy research paper released in July 2026 that the country's housing crisis cannot be solved by building more houses alone.
Instead, the report states Namibia needs better land servicing, improved infrastructure, stronger housing finance and closer cooperation between government, local authorities, financial institutions and the private sector to address an estimated housing backlog of 270 318 units and improve access to affordable homes.
The report, titled Namibia's Housing Sector: Challenges, Opportunities and Policy Options, argues that the country's housing problems run much deeper than a shortage of houses. It says the biggest challenge is that the different parts of the housing sector are not working together effectively, making it difficult to meet the growing demand for affordable homes.
According to the study, Namibia's housing planning backlog now stands at about 270 318 units.
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This includes an estimated shortage of 39 030 homes and about 231 288 houses that should be replaced because they no longer provide adequate living conditions. The report says this approach gives a more realistic picture of the country's housing needs than previous estimates, which focused mainly on the number of households without formal housing.
"Housing provision is affected by an interconnected system including land management, spatial planning, infrastructure, housing finance, institutions, regulations, capital markets, and delivery mechanisms. Deficiencies in any of these areas hinder the overall performance of the housing sector," the report states.
The study notes that government has invested in housing through national policies, financing schemes and public housing programmes since Independence. However, these efforts have been overtaken by rapid urbanisation, population growth, rising construction costs, limited serviced land and declining affordability. As a result, more Namibians are settling in informal areas while many households are unable to buy or build decent homes.
Mwinga says the country needs to rethink how it approaches housing.
"Namibia's housing problem is primarily a systems challenge, not just a construction problem. Achieving sustainable housing improvements will require more than just building more housing units; it necessitates strengthening institutions, expanding access to serviced land and infrastructure, enhancing housing affordability, modernising housing finance, mobilising long-term capital, and integrating all parts of the housing value chain into a cohesive national system," explained Mwinga.
The report introduces a new set of Namibia Housing Affordability Indicators, which combine household income, house prices, mortgage access, housing supply and the growth of informal settlements to measure whether housing is becoming more affordable. The study says these indicators can help policymakers monitor progress and identify where intervention is needed.
The report also reviews previous government housing initiatives, including the Mass Housing Programme. While acknowledging that these programmes helped expand housing opportunities, it says their long-term impact was weakened by poor coordination, delays in infrastructure development, funding shortages and regulatory inefficiencies.
Instead of relying mainly on traditional home ownership, the study proposes a broader housing delivery model. It recommends increasing the supply of serviced land, expanding affordable rental housing, introducing more rent-to-own schemes, supporting incremental housing, upgrading informal settlements and strengthening community-based housing programmes. According to the report, different income groups require different housing solutions.
To support these efforts, Dr Mwinga proposes the creation of a National Housing Finance Architecture that would bring together government, commercial banks, development finance institutions, pension funds, insurance companies and private investors. The report says financial instruments such as housing bonds, infrastructure bonds, mortgage-backed securities and public-private partnerships could attract more long-term investment into housing while reducing dependence on annual government funding.
It further recommends reforms to improve land administration, strengthen local authorities, speed up infrastructure delivery and improve coordination among all institutions involved in housing development.
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These reforms, the report says, would help lower housing costs, increase the supply of serviced land and make affordable housing more accessible to ordinary Namibians.
The study also warns that demand for housing is expected to increase as Namibia experiences economic growth driven by investments in sectors such as oil and gas, green hydrogen, mining, logistics, manufacturing and tourism. Without reforms, it says, the housing shortage could become even worse as more people move to urban areas in search of jobs.
The report concludes that lasting solutions will require all players in the housing sector to work together rather than operate independently.
"The main conclusion is that Namibia's housing issues cannot be solved through isolated programmes or just increasing construction. Sustainable solutions require building a cohesive national housing system that addresses land, infrastructure, finance, institutions, regulation, delivery and capital mobilisation all at once," the report notes.
