Property Barometer - February 2013
FNB - South Africa
OUTLOOK
Where too from here? It was a relatively strong economic period through the summer of 2011/12 to mid-2012 that aided a noticeable improvement in the housing market and house price growth. During the 2nd half of 2012, however, a slower domestic economy, hampered by widespread industrial action disruptions to production (the most extreme being in the mining sector), was arguably instrumental in causing a slower pace of price growth in the 2nd half of 2012 and early-2013.
However, recently we have started to see the economic growth situation “normalize”. From a lowly 1.2% quarter-on-quarter annualized growth in real gross domestic product (GDP) in the 3rd quarter of 2012, the 4th quarter rate accelerated mildly to 2.1% in the 4th quarter. More recently, the February Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, a very useful current indicator of economic direction, rose to above 50, signaling renewed expansion in manufacturing after a late-2012 slump.
However, the expectation that house price growth will remain in lower single-digit territory for the year, below consumer price inflation and thus negative in real terms, still holds. This mediocre expectation is on the back of our forecast for no further interest rate reduction in 2013, and although economic growth is expected to be better than it was late in 2012, a 2.7% 2013 forecast growth rate remains weak, constrained by global economic mediocrity as well as a highly-indebted household sector.
FNB Property Barometer February 2013 House Price Index
'It is fraud to load property price for higher bond'
Iol - South Africa
Some sellers and buyers (with the help of their agents) agree to 'load' a property's sale price to make it possible for the buyer to qualify for a bond that is large enough to cover the deposit and the transfer fees.
This was said recently by Tony Clarke, Managing Director of the Rawson Property Group. Clarke explained that in these instances, once the seller has been paid in full by the bank, he then reimburses the buyer with sufficient cash to cover the upfront extra costs involved in any property sale transaction.
Clarke warned that this practice is fraudulent.
Iol.co.za
Property deals go hi-tech
Tasmania News - Australia
Buying and selling property is set to become a whole lot easier, with the unveiling of new technology at the Australian Institute of Conveyancers conference in Hobart at the weekend.
About 270 national delegates converged on the city, which hosted the event for the first time in its 20-year history.
The centerpiece of the conference was the launch of Property Exchange Australia, which simplifies the process of buying and selling property when using a conveyancing service.
"Instead of what we do now, where we physically go along to a settlement and hand over a bank cheque in exchange for a paper title, that will all be done electronically," Tasmanian AIC president Helen Kent said.
Tasmania News
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