An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach to understanding the correlation of land use regulations on residential property values in Windhoek, Namibia
Sam M. Mwando, Anthony Mushinge
Department of Land and Property Sciences, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia; Department of Real Estates, Copperbelt University, Zambia
Windhoek city continues to experience an acute shortage of affordable housing, a situation that has reached a socio-economic crisis proportion with an estimated housing backlog of 21,000 units out of the national backlog of 100,000 units. Over the past 10 years, Windhoek city has experienced a remarkable combination of increases in housing prices and a skewed supply of unaffordable housing. The average price increase of houses from 2010 to 2016 in Windhoek was 16.2%, representing 5% higher than the national average. One of the contributing factor to the city of Windhoek’s housing market crisis is the low residential density use in neighbourhoods close to the central business district. The enactment of an urban land use regulation permitting the conversion of residential properties to other non-residential uses such as office and commercial use may further exacerbate the cost of housing in the city. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the newly introduced urban land use regulation on single-family residential properties in Windhoek West. This pilot study investigates two fundamental questions; the impact of proximity to non-residential uses on adjacent property values and establish differences in property values of single-family houses in predominantly residential streets, transforming streets and transformed streets in the study area. Using mixed methods approach, the study combined survey interviews and observational checklist to develop a hedonic pricing model in understanding the variables that significantly contribute to residential property values in the study area from 2005 to 2017.
In this localised case, initial results reveal that locational or neighbourhood factors do not explain the variability in the differences in property values of single-family houses. As distance from commercial or retail uses increase, the impact of non-residential uses is negligible. There are mixed results on whether mixing land uses have an effect on single-family homes in the study area. This study creates a springboard upon which more rigorous investigation on the economic effects of urban land use regulations in the study area.
Event: Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty 2019
Only personal, non-commercial use of this document is allowed.