Abstract
The
delay in housing supply and the price of the stock of available homes are factors contributing to the residential housing issue. The problem of residential housing is related to the backlog in terms of housing provision and the cost of the available housing stock. This double challenge requires resolving
simultaneously if the problem of residential accommodation is to be managed. According to the
National Development Plan 4 (NDP 4) review, Namibia’s housing backlog is expected to reach 300,
000 units as of the most current official estimate. Over the ye ars, the nation has implemented a number
of housing projects to address the pressing need for sufficient living space. The deficit in affordable
housing supply as a result of the scarcity of housing have caused residential property prices to reach a new high, and it has continued to do so for the last decade and a half. The rise in land and house prices
are attributed in part to scarcity of serviced land. As a result, Namibia’s informal settlements, which
are thought to consist of about 140 shacks in the city, have proliferated. Unplanned urban expansion
and informal growth have significant negative effects on Namibia’s economy, society, and
environment. Literature has indicated that many studies have been done on the factors that influence
property pri ces in Namibia, but little has been done to understand the effects of shopping malls on adjacent residential properties especially to do with cost. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effect of commercial property development on adjacenadjacent residential property prices. The
Grove Mall shopping centre and adjacent residential property prices in Windhoek was used as the case
study for the study. It was therefore considered as a quite unusual case phenomena that had not received
much attention in the Namibian setting. The study employed a quantitative study using a regression
method to test the effects of physical attributes such as size, suburb, inflation, purchase year, and the
development of the Grove Mall instead of only employing the fina ncial attributes, which can only be found in hedonic methods. The data for this research were the prices realized on the market for houses
in the selected neighboring suburbs of the Grove Mall, and which were obtained from the City of Windhoek Namibia over the period under study. The questionnaires were also distributed to property
owners in the study area. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS. The study found that there is a positive and direct correlation between the development of the mall and th e prices of adjacent residential
properties. The evidence drawn from the development of the Grove Mall and adjacent residential
property prices taking into account other factors, confirmed the relationship between the two variables.