SA property is doing surprisingly well
Despite a current rather gloomy economic environment, the residential housing sector has been in surprisingly positive territory according to Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group, who says their interpretation of this somewhat surprising trend is that housing demand continues to outstrip supply.
“And like many other parts of the world, the housing shortage in South Africa, generally speaking, is on a significant scale in virtually all segments of the market. Taking into account affordability concerns and constraints, that demand continues to fuel price appreciation and new stock supply,” says Dr Golding.
“Since the middle of 2012 we started to see a trend of, firstly, nominal house price growth, and then above inflation house price growth across many segments of the South African residential property market.”
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New regulations for selling state-owned land
New Treasury regulations, soon to be published under the Public Finance Management Act, could have major implications both for property developers and human settlements departments vying to gain access to well-located, non-core land owned by state-owned enterprises according to Sean Dayton, an associate in Bowman Gilfillan Africa Group’s Corporate/M&A Practice.
"Originally released for public comment in 2012, the regulations have been revised in line with the submissions received since then,” says Dayton. “The extent of the revision is unknown, but the public will have access to the final form of the regulations when they are published in the Government Gazette in the coming weeks.”
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How will rising interest rates affect you?
The South African Reserve Bank has warned that they are currently in a hiking phase and consumers can expect the interest rate to increase in the near future. Why is this important for the South African property market and homeowners?
“Well, the fact is that there are only a handful of people in South Africa who are able to purchase a property with cash. Most homeowners and potential buyers in this country are loan-dependent and therefore will require financial assistance from a lending institution in order to buy a home,” says Adrian Goslett, Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa.
“As a result, the interest rate will affect most homeowners at some stage of their lives in some way.”
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IEASA rental training sessions to be held in George
Estate agents on the Garden Route who work predominantly in renting property, or who are thinking of branching into that division to expand their business, are advised to attend the last two rentals training sessions for 2015 being run by the Institute of Estate Agents Western Cape (IEASA-WC) in George in November according to Annette Evans, regional general manager of the Institute Western Cape, who says both these sessions will be run by rental specialist, Vivien Marks, and will be held at the Pine Lodge, corner of Saasveld and Knysna Road, Glenwood, George.
The first is a two-day course which will provide detailed information on rental legislation, and will run on 9 and 10 November from 09h30 to 14h00.
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10 questions ST owners should ask about insurance
The demand for sectional title living and investment has greatly increased over the past few years, largely due to the relative safety these complexes offer, the sense of community and the known positive return on investment according to Sean McGuinness, a principal at Milward and King, who says many new complexes and sectional title schemes are being built.
In light of this, McGuinness says they have created 10 questions sectional title owners should ask about the insurance:
1. Who are the insurance brokers and which company is the complex insured through?
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Should you run a business from a residential area?
Running a business from a residential area can be a tempting concept for many reasons, but it’s not always the best choice for the success of your enterprise according to Jason Gregoriades, a member of the Rawson Property Group’s Commercial Business Development Team, who says the pros and cons are very subjective and depend entirely on the nature of your enterprise and its operational and physical requirements.
“By assessing these in conjunction with the most common benefits and pitfalls of residential business premises, you should get a good idea of whether it’s the right choice for you.”
As a first step, Gregoriades advises taking an objective look at how your day to day processes would impact your surroundings.
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What you need to know about a rental deposit
These days the landlord or his rental agent will invariably ask for one and a half, two or more months’ rental to be paid as a deposit upfront before the tenant takes occupation. This deposit safeguards the landlord against breaches in the lease agreement, damage to his property, rent shortfalls and the non-payment of utilities.
This is according to Johann van der Merwe, Rawson’s Somerset West co-franchisee, who says in the initial negotiation phases, it is essential that the tenant and landlord, or his agent, inspect the property together and then draw up a comprehensive lease agreement which includes a complete inventory.
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