SA house price inflation simmers at 4% as prices 'trend sideways'
South Africa's property market's resilience in the face of the global Covid-19 pandemic continues, with industry experts expecting rates to remain unchanged for the remainder of the year, benefiting low-value homeowners looking to upgrade. However, analysis shows the historically low-interest rate's impact on the market is starting to cool.
Annual house price inflation was recorded at 4,0% at the end of February 2021, signifying yet another positive increase from the previous month. This is according to the Lightstone Property Indice for March, with the "optimism is evident at provincial level and the different value bands with the exception of the low-value segment.
"The low-value market has seen lesser demand due to the historically low-interest rate that has enabled both the immediate participation in higher-value market for new homeowners and a comfortable upgrade for Low-value homeowners."
The Rode 2021 report also indicates that house prices in South Africa "remain buoyant, with nominal price growth reaching about 4% in February 2021 compared to February 2020 due to the interest rate bonanza". This implies that so far in 2021 house prices have surprisingly outpaced consumer inflation, which averaged at 3% in the first two months.
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What you should know if you plan to emigrate but want to keep your SA home
One of the major legacies of the Covid-19 pandemic is that people's perceptions of working remotely have changed significantly. Add to that, less South Africans are willing to emigrate than before the pandemic. While some 59% of South Africans are willing to move to another country for work, this figure is down from a 72% willingness level in 2018.
This is according to the study Decoding Global Ways of Working, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network, including local partner organisation CareerJunction. It involved some 209,000 participants in 190 countries and 1,421 in South Africa.
The decline in South Africans wanting to emigrate is in line with the global trend of decreasing mobility – which is likely due to the pandemic induced tighter immigration and less welcoming policies in certain big destination, says Rudi van Blerk, principal and recruiting director at Boston Consulting Group, Johannesburg.
And yet the risk of the brain drain continues as the study shows that those in the most sought-after job roles are still extremely mobile and willing to move and work abroad. These include digitalisation and automation (85%), science & research (78%), law (76%) and IT (74%). However, there are a number of things to consider for those who are emigrating but want to keep a toe-hold in South Africa in the form of Property Investment.
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Here's why the KZN property market is one of SA's 'best kept secrets'
Over the past three years, the KwaZulu Natal property market has enjoyed unparalleled growth, outperforming other provinces as an investment destination. And yet, it is still considered one of the best-kept secrets in the country.
According to the Pam Golding Residential Property Index, South Africa’s house price inflation continues to rebound, rising from a low of 2.5% in April 2019 to 4.1% in February 2021 and promisingly, the recovery in prices is showing no sign of losing momentum. KwaZulu-Natal still leads the recovery with +5.4% in February 2021, followed by Gauteng (+4.8%) and the Western Cape (+4.7%).
Noteworthy especially for first-time buyers, and according to the Pam Golding Residential Property Index, lower-end prices (
Trust Urban Housing Finance (TUHF) Regional Manager for KZN and Free State, Sershin Moodley believes three major trends have the potential to significantly change the positioning of KZN and prepare the way for a marked investment in the province.
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