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SA mortgage advances growth cools in June
RodneyHayter.com - South Africa
Data released by the South African Reserve Bank today showed that growth of 27,2% year-on-year was recorded in mortgage advances by the monetary sector in June 2007 (27,6% in May). This brought the total amount of mortgage advances to R758,4 billion in June.

On a month-on-month basis, ABSA notes that mortgage advances growth was 1,8% in June compared with 2,3% in May. The amount of mortgage advances increased by R13,6 billion in June from a total of R744,8 billion in May.

The moderating trend in year-on-year growth in mortgage advances since peaking at 30,9% in October last year can be ascribed to the lagged effect of higher interest rates
since mid-2006. The growth of 27,2% recorded in June this year does not yet reflect the impact of the National Credit Act (NCA), which was fully implemented in June.
RodneyHayter.com

Median house price falls to R585,000 - Bank
Business Day - South Africa
House price inflation rose by 10,4% year-on-year last month, down from the 18,8% jump a month before and the 10,9% increase in May, Standard Bank's residential property gauge showed today.

The growth brought the median house price to R585,000 from R620,000 in June and R600,000 in May. The five-month moving average growth rate, which is a popular measure used to gauge trend growth, escalated modestly to 11,1% year-on-year last month from 10,8% year-on-year in June.

"The last three months' data, especially June's, should be interpreted with some circumspection since it is likely to have been subjected to several distortions," said Standard Bank.
Business Day

MEC refuses to release housing list - DA
Iol.co.za - South Africa
The Democratic Alliance has launched a petition to demand that all housing lists in Gauteng be accessible to the public, the party said on Wednesday.

Spokesperson on housing in Gauteng, Kate Lorimer, said in a statement that the DA had asked to see copies of the list in the legislature. She claimed that housing MEC Nomvula Mokonyane had refused to release them.

She said the DA had also made application in terms of the Public Access to Information Act but, she claimed, the housing department had ignored the application.
Iol.co.za