Court orders partial demolition of illegal Parkmore property
IolProperty - South Africa
In what is considered to be a major victory for property owners whose neighbours build illegally, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ordered the partial demolition of a building in 11th Street, Parkmore.
In the case of BSB International Link cc versus Readam South Africa Pty Ltd, the SCA upheld a decision by the high court in Joburg ordering partial demolition of the building because it covers 86.13 percent of the property, while it should only cover 60 percent in terms of the Sandton Town Planning Scheme.
It also has provision for only 11 parallel street parkings, while there should be 35 for retail purposes.
The SCA's Judge Visvanathan Ponnan and Judge Kevin Swain further ordered the building not to be occupied until a valid certificate of occupancy has been issued by the City of Joburg.
IolProperty
House Price Indices
Absa - South Africa
Continued relatively low price growth in middle-segment housing
May 2016 saw year-on-year growth in the average nominal value of middle-segment homes in the South African residential property market slowing down somewhat from April. In real terms, i.e. after adjustment for the effect of consumer price inflation, house price growth remained around the zero level up to April. Real price trends are important from a property investment perspective, as investors would want to determine if their investment is beating inflation. The abovementioned trends in home values are according to the Absa house price indices, which are based on applications for mortgage finance received and approved by the bank in respect of middle-segment small, medium-sized and large homes (see explanatory notes).
Year-on-year nominal price growth of 5,7% was recorded in middle-segment housing in May, slightly down from 6,1% in April. Year-to-date price growth up to May came to about 6% y/y. Some negligent real price deflation of 0,1% year-on-year (y/y) was evident in April on the back of a consumer price inflation rate of 6,2% y/y in the month. Current trends in house prices are believed to be the result of a fair amount of financial pressure experienced by homebuyers on the back of tough macroeconomic conditions, which have the effect of an increasingly strong focus on the affordability of housing and mortgage finance.
HPI May 2016
How does marriage affect your property rights?
Rawson - South Africa
Marriage is an undeniably life-changing event, and not just in the emotional sense - it alters the way we manage things like finances and property ownership too
The contractual side of tying the knot may not be particularly romantic, but it can have far-reaching effects on your future, and should definitely be a part of your discussions before you say "I do".
"Property is often the most valuable asset a person will own in their lifetime," says Tony Clarke, Managing Director of the Rawson Property Group. "It's also pretty central to most marriages - the marital home - but that doesn’t necessarily mean ownership is always shared equally between spouses. It really depends on your marital contract, and can be affected by whether the purchase was made before or after the marriage."
Marriage and property
Price gap still large
MultiNet Mortgages - South Africa
One of the factors holding back the South African residential sector is the large gap between the cost of new homes and similar quality/size second-hand homes. Discussing this recently John Smyth, the CEO of Multi Net Mortgages, said that the latest (20th May) FNB Property Barometer makes it clear that the gap is now calculated at 25.3% - and this is the highest that it has been since 2004.
“What this tells us,” said Smyth, “is that in real terms South African housing is still good value because in general it is costing one-quarter less than the replacement of the same home. However until new buildings and second hand buildings are priced at approximately the same levels (as they were in 2007/2008) we cannot expect the housing sector to boom as we would all like to see it doing.
Price Gap
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