NBS targets 2 000 houses in 2018

08 Apr, 2018 - 00:04 0 Views
NBS targets 2 000 houses in 2018

The Sunday Mail

Livingstone Marufu
THE National Building Society wants to complete more than 2 000 houses in 2018 as the company moves to deliver affordable houses for low-income earners.

The NBS scheme will see beneficiaries paying monthly payments of an average of US$200 across Zimbabwe.

A recent survey showed that other building societies have mortgages of between $150 000 and US$200 000, with prospective home owners expected to pay deposits of between $20 000 to $50 000, as well as make monthly payments of around $2 000 for more than 10 years.

The monthly salary requirement for a client to qualify for such schemes is $5 000.

Construction of the first set of houses under the NBS scheme will be unveiled in Harare this year.

While official costs of the apartments are yet to be unveiled, indications are that total prices of the homes will be around $15 000 with a 15-year mortgage, suggesting monthly under $200.

Models under the scheme include semi-detached and detached apartments.

Presenting the company’s 2017 results, NBS chair Dr Douglas Zimbango said the building society wanted to ensure that every economically active Zimbabwean had access to decent and affordable housing via a commercially viable business model.

“The board, in recognition of this mandate, is cognisant of the fact that this can only be achieved through growing quality sustainable earnings from mortgages supported by an attractive yet comprehensive financial services product portfolio that meets the demands of an everyday hard-working Zimbabwean.

“In pursuance with the board strategy the Society delivered 307 completed housing units in various locations, in addition, we had 840 housing units at various stages of completion which we expect to deliver by the second quarter of 2018. At year end we had signed off take agreements which should culminate in the delivery of an additional 1000 units in the first half of 2018,” said Dr Zimbango.

NBS has housing projects in Harare’s Dzivarasekwa, Stoneridge, Adelaide Park and Glaudina; Mutare’s New Mara, Bindura’s Woobrooke, Shurugwi’s Magakooshla, and Masvingo’s Victoria Ranch.

Meanwhile, NBS’s total assets grew 140 percent to $137 million from $57,1 million, mainly driven by growth in deposits and borrowings.

Deposits grew 185 percent to $55,2 million from $19,4 million the prior year; whilst borrowings recorded 117 percent growth to $33,7 million from $15,5 million as NBS underwrote more housing projects in line with its core mandate.

Resultantly, loans and advances disbursed grew 155 percent to $62,8 million from $25 million.

The society incurred a deficit of $1,2 million, an improvement of 61 percent from the 2016 deficit of $3 million.

NBS expects that new services like the Hospital Cash Plan, mobile banking application the NBS Transactor, point-of-sale machine roll-out, and a micro-mortgage product for the SME segment, will ensure the bank reports positive results in 2018.

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