3 things you need to know about SA’s property market
Many concerns have been raised following a period of slowed house price appreciation across the country.
While some of these concerns are valid, Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Adrian Goslett, explains that others are easily overcome if you understand certain things about the current housing market.
1. House prices are growing slightly below inflation
The bad news is that house prices have been growing at a rate below inflation for some time now. The good news is that the margin has been small and is closing. Standard Bank reported national house price growth to be 3.9% in July. This is just below the current inflation rate of 4%
More
What really determines the value of your property?
Real estate has long been touted as a good investment on the basis of property having excellent value, but in order to capitalise in a dynamic marketplace, one has to understand the meaning of value in this context and the key factors which contribute to this value.
Steve Thomas, Secure Estate Specialist for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in Constantiaberg, says when broadly defined, real estate is the value of the land plus the improvements upon it, the resources beneath it - and the rights above it, without which the former has a basic, unenhanced intrinsic value with minimal benefit or yield.
“And in determining value, many people attribute a lot of weight to the rand per square metre ratio and, whilst it is certainly one factor, it’s far more significant to those who view real estate from a purely investment perspective,” says Thomas.
More
SA's property industry falling victim to cybercrime
According to the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) Annual Crime Statistics report for 2018, digital crime increased by 4.9% from the previous year, amounting to R2.6 million in losses for unsuspecting victims. The report lists phishing, vishing, SMiShing and email hacking or business email compromise as the most prominent digital fraud examples in South Africa.
Handré van der Merwe from identity and IT security solutions consultants BUI says that South Africa’s property industry hasn’t kept pace with the changing cybercrime landscape, leaving itself open to a variety of possible data and financial breaches.
“The property industry is in a challenging state in the current economic climate, which means that normal safety processes aren’t necessarily being followed to the letter,” he says. “Buyers aren’t being properly vetted and security checks are being overlooked. In addition, small business owners very often don’t have the budget available to adequately secure their data, processes and operations.”
More
7 tips to spruce up your finances before buying a home
If you’re planning to buy a new home, spring is a great time to freshen up your finances.
“Just as homeowners will prepare their properties for show days and viewings by cleaning, polishing and painting, so potential home buyers need to make sure that their finances are in good shape before they go house hunting or apply for a home loan,” says Carl Coetzee, the new CEO of BetterBond, national home loan originator.
“This is important because although the banks are currently actively seeking to lend to home buyers, they still require borrowers to have clean credit records and sufficient disposable income to be able to afford the bond repayments.”
More
Leave a comment: