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Property price dip steepest in 23 years
BusinessDay.co.za - South Africa
The price of an average three- bedroom house dropped by R35300 in the year to last month, the steepest fall in 23 years, says Absa .

The Absa house price indices released yesterday show that the average nominal price of middle- segment housing declined 3,6% year on year last month, as the underperforming economy takes its toll on housing demand.

SA in is a recession - having recorded two successive quarters of negative growth.

Despite the 4,5-percentage-point reduction in lending rates since December, the housing market is struggling due to rising unemployment, depressed household income, and a drop in consumer confidence - factors that have contributed to the low demand for housing.
Month on month, nominal house prices were 0,5% lower last month compared with April.
Business Day

Avoiding dud tenants
RealEstateWeb- South Africa
Tips for property owners on how to avoid a rental headache.

The South African legal system gives tenants more rights than property owners. A tenant can default on rent for months, and there is nothing the property owner can do about it - you certainly can't evict him.

Right?

Wrong. It is certainly possible to obtain an eviction order against defaulting tenants, provided you follow the correct procedure.

However, it is worth noting that the number of defaulting, problem tenants is tiny when compared to the total number of residential properties that are being rented by good, law-abiding individuals and families.
RealEstateWeb

Risk and return - when will we learn?
eProp - South Africa
The question that should be asked when making any sort of investment is "how safe is my money"? The risk in the investment must be related to the return or income from that investment
Many people who invested in companies like Masterbond and Owen Wiggins (who offered high returns) for example, lost a lot of money and now the provisional liquidation of City Capital SA Property Holdings Ltd and Financial Mail Cover Story, 12 June 2009, "Exposed: SA's Madoff.

The higher the return, the higher the risk. With prime overdraft rates at 11% and expectations of further reductions, property investors are once again appreciating the long term benefits of direct property investment.
eProp