Housing Review - Q4 2016
Absa - South Africa
The property market
The performance of the property market is to a large extent determined by trends in and the outlook for the economy, the state of household finances and levels of consumer confidence. These factors will be evident in property demand and supply conditions, buying patterns, market activity, transaction volumes, building activity and trends in the mortgage market. Against this background the growth in household mortgage balances is expected to remain subdued at between 3,5% and 4% towards year-end and in 2017.
Based on macroeconomic and household sector-related trends and prospects, nominal house price growth is forecast to remain in a relatively narrow range of between 3,5% and 4,5% in 2016 and 2017. Real price deflation of between 1,5% and 2,5% is projected over this period, taking account of the outlook for headline consumer price inflation.
Building confidence and levels of residential building activity are expected to remain largely depressed over the short to medium term against the background of trends in and the outlook for the economy, the household sector and the property market.
Housing Review 2016 Q4
Tenants vs. landlords - who covers what?
PSG - South Africa
It is important that tenants and landlords understand the insurance implications involved in their lease agreement, and who is responsible for what. Generally, tenants are liable for their contents insurance, while landlords are liable for the insurance of the property.
What this means is that should the geyser burst, for example, and damage a fixed carpet and some of a tenant's belongings, the landlord is only liable to replace the geyser and the carpet, but is not required to compensate the tenant for contents damage, says Bertus Visser of PSG Insure.
Who covers what?
Rental deposits don't belong to landlords or agents
IolProperty - South Africa
Relationships between landlords and tenants are rarely easy. The wrong tenants can ruin properties, squat or cripple landlords financially, while landlords can be just as crooked, particularly when they don't bother to maintain their assets, charge extortionate rentals and retain deposits for no good reason.
Last week's impassioned letter from the landlord "lost for words", whose tenants who ruined his garden, kept destructive dogs and threatened to shoot him, drove home a point that many landlords make about their tenants: once people have occupied your premises, the law is on their side as it becomes a ruinously expensive exercise to get them evicted.
Which is why a proper risk assessment needs to be conducted to determine the suitability of potential tenants. It's not fail-safe, but armed with a credit report, recommendations from previous landlords and the deposit, you have some leverage.
IolProperty
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