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New law may force name changes
News24.com - South Africa
New legislation to force changes of "offensive" names of private properties will come soon, the department of arts and culture said in parliament on Friday. "We are looking at forcing private property owners to change offensive names," said Vusithemba Ndimo, chief director of language in the department of arts and culture while addressing the portfolio committee on arts and culture.

He said this would enable the state to force the likes of farm owners and shop keepers to change names that were found to be "offensive".
News24

Threat of gazumping looms over property market
The Herald - Scotland
The Scottish Executive is set to kill the residential property market in Scotland at a stroke, through its blinkered determination to force through the introduction of single seller surveys in the face of a failed pilot, near-universal opposition and realities on the ground.

This new regime, ironically conceived to protect buyers, will increase uncertainty and depress house prices, without tackling the real enemy. That is the failure to make a contract quickly for the sale or purchase of a house, which threatens to introduce the very worst aspects of the English system, including "gazumping".
The Herald

Correcting mistakes in property documents
India Times - India
Execution of property documents is a complex process. Sometimes, a mistake can happen in the process of execution of a document. It is always advisable to get the mistake rectified at the earliest. It may create a major problem at a later stage.

There are different kinds of mistakes possible. For example, there could be an error in facts such as area of the property, its dimensions, the location of the property, survey numbers, names of the owners or the transferors, or the consideration amount.
India Times

Property under the hammer
Moneyweb - South Africa
The boom in the house market of the last couple of years has led to the market being dubbed a "seller's market" owing to the robust demand for residential property. Mandating an estate agent to sell your property has always been the traditional way of disposing your property, but lately property auctions have fast been gaining popularity.

Having been widely used in the Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, auctioning of residential property is gaining new-found acceptance in Gauteng, says Park Village spokesman Rodney Beck.
Moneyweb

Dying gardens - who pays?
Moneyweb - South Africa
As drought grips the Western Cape, landlords and tenants are increasingly doing battle over who is responsible for the garden.

With residents allowed to water for one hour a week using a bucket or watering can - or a handheld hose for 30 minutes a week - none but the hardiest plant varieties have survived the summer. And, without a borehole or well-point, lawns have transformed into dust bowls.
Moneyweb

New home numbers up 21 percent
Property24.com - South Africa
The latest residential building statistics reveal how many new homes were built last year - and how many are in the planning pipeline.

The total real value of new residential buildings completed in 2004 increased by 33,7 percent to R11-billion (at constant 2000 prices) compared with R8,2 billion in 2003. In December last year the real value of new residential properties completed was R960,2 million - up 40,5 percent y/y compared with the same month of 2003.

However, the actual number of new houses, flats and townhouses completed in SA as a whole was only 20,7 percent higher in 2004 than in 2003. Decreases in the number of dwellings completed were recorded in KZN and the Free State, while the highest increases were recorded in the North West, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape.
Property24

Township property punt
Moneyweb - South Africa
Construction has started on an innovative new development set to produce bumper returns for investors as well as transform the heart of Cape Town's Khayelitsha township. A shopping centre is part of a multi-million rand integrated development - which includes residential property, a shopping centre and public services - aimed at creating a bustling central business district.

The idea, said Wayne van der Vent of developer Futuregrowth, is to have a retail centre that ranks among the best the country has to offer.
Moneyweb