The Rawson Property Group moves into Walvis Bay

Shortly after securing their first Southern African franchise in Harare and their second in Windhoek, Tony Clarke, Managing Director of the Rawson Property Group made a prediction that his group’s across border expansion would continue.

This forecast has now been fulfilled by the establishment of their second Namibian franchise, this time in Walvis Bay.

Sheila Raw, an experienced Walvis Bay property professional, has in partnership, bought the rights to establish a three division Rawson franchise in Namibia’s major harbour town. The franchise, which is due to open its doors on 14th February 2014 will, with Rawson’s 31 years of supportive experience, professionally facilitate a service for residential sales, residential rentals as well as commercial and industrial sales and rentals.

“It has always been one of my biggest goals to own my own business,” said Sheila Raw, “ and after courageously accumulating a number of property investment portfolios, I knew that this would be the ideal direction to take. This, together with my passion for people, was the deciding factor.”

With seven years of experience working as a real estate agent in the local property industry and with MBA studies under her belt, Sheila will be taking the reins and heading up the team.

“This is a very exciting time to be getting into the Walvis Bay property arena because the existing environment of growth and prosperity in Namibia’s industrial port town is being stimulated further by a number of impressive housing and industrial projects.”

Supporting a population of some 74,000, coupled with an estimated 23,500 people living in the Walvis Bay informal settlements,  there is a lot of work to be done with regards to housing. Sheila is, however, confident that both the local and national government, with their 2013 vision of long-term development to make Namibia a prosperous and industrialised nation, are on the right track - visibly dedicated to resolving the issues.

Asked what kinds of properties Walvis Bay has on offer and where the big demand lies, Sheila said that the area offers a wide spectrum of properties, from low cost houses to upmarket seaside family homes as well as various industrial and commercial properties.

“The greatest demand for homes currently lies in the below N$ 1 000 000 price range,” explained Sheila, “but there is also much activity in the N$1 500 000 to N$ 2 000 000 bracket, as this is where the young professionals set their sights.” 

Walvis Bay buyers, added Sheila, are very particular and know what they want but this doesn’t always match up with what they can afford.

"Namibian banks adhere to the Development Bank of Namibia requirements and are strict when it comes to awarding mortgage bonds,” said Sheila, “and they often ask for sizeable deposits, which many simply cannot afford. Pre-qualification support is therefore essential and it will make up a significant part of the service we will be offering.”

Rawson Walvis Bay aims to build up an elite team of agents in the coming months and expand services to a growing number of the people going forward.

“Our goal is to ensure steady growth, based on dynamic and progressive management with an exuberant team, who are excited about property, people and adding value to our amazing port city.”