Housing barometer

Sixty percent of sellers are not realising their asking prices according to FNB's Residential Property Barometer for the first quarter of this year. While the average time a residential property remains on the market is around eight weeks, this is up from seven weeks as found in the Property Barometer for the fourth quarter of 2005. Yet 95% of property professionals have a positive outlook for the next three months.
The Property Barometer also makes interesting reading in its analysis of demand for residential property in townships. According to it:

• There are seven buyers for every property in Gauteng townships, while in the Cape eight buyers for every property exist.
  
• 57% of buyers in the Gauteng township markets were first-time buyers
  
• 90% of buyers in Gauteng's townships bought properties to live in with only 10% buying to let them out
  
• FNB will be financing a 3035-unit housing development in Soweto to meet this pent-up demand for housing.