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The release of the September SARB Leading Business Cycle Indicator provided little in the way of surprises, showing further month-on-month decline, which is not out of line with the direction of certain key global leading business cycle indicators.

 

The Leading Indicator correlates well to trends in the South African mortgage market, and more specifically to trends in the value of new mortgage loans granted.

 

On a month-on-month basis, the Leading Indicator fell by -0.3% in September, which represents less of a decline than the -2.2% of August, but is the 3rd consecutive month of month-on-month decline.

FNB Property Barometer_September SARB Leading Indicator

Property deals to avoid
Iol.co.za - South Africa
While some property deals may look good at the outset, there are some scenarios that buyers and sellers should avoid to protect themselves from a sale that could cost them dearly in the long run, says Martin Potgieter, of RE/MAX Jacaranda.

Potgieter, who is also a qualified Conveyancer, says: "There are circumstances that some sellers find themselves in that could make them desperate to sell their home."

He highlights the case of one seller who had been offered a new position in Cape Town to start in the New Year. The children had to start at their new school, so the move had to be a speedy one. For this seller, renting out his property could always be an option, but stories of bad tenants had left him wary of taking this route, leaving no other choice but to sell, and sell quickly. "Desperation, be it financial or otherwise, and property sales make strange bedfellows," says Potgieter.
Iol.co.za

FNB Property Barometer - 3rd Quarter Residential Maintenance and Upgrades
FNB - South Africa
Estate agents as well as hardware sales point to households addressing home maintenance backlogs on a larger scale, but “value adding” upgrades to homes remain weak.