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Credit law briefly inflates house prices
Business Report - South Africa
Strong house price growth last month was artificially inflated by the activity of property industry participants wishing to close deals ahead of the National Credit Act, according to Standard Bank.

The activity should therefore not influence the Reserve Bank's decision this week on interest rates, the bank said.

Standard Bank economist Elna Moolman said there had been a concerted effort by some mortgage originators and estate agents to tie up as many property purchases as possible before the implementation of the act on June 1.

"This is because of the perceived tightening in banks' lending that they fear may follow, and it does appear that the greater capacity of higher-income individuals to respond to this idea explains the increased turnover of dearer houses," she said.
Business Report

Tesco takes on 'sleepy' solicitors
Sunday Telegraph
Tesco, the UK's largest retailer, is plotting to take on high street solicitors by launching a property conveyancing service.

The supermarket is in the early stages of signing up one of a new breed of legal companies to act as a third party provider for its booming financial services arm - which already offers insurance, credit cards and mortgage searches to shoppers.
Sunday Telegraph

conveyIT partners with Trade Me
scoop - New Zealand
The national network of property conveyancers, conveyIT, today announced a partnership with New Zealand's largest online marketplace Trade Me, to provide essential legal information to all Trade Me property buyers.

Starting today, every property listing on Trade Me will have a direct link to conveyIT to deliver independent property-related legal information and advice specific to the New Zealand market. The website also contains a network of local firms throughout the country that will provide high quality property conveyancing for Trade Me members.
scoop

Court rules that farmers were dispossessed
The Times - South Africa
Eight Limpopo farmers are to receive restitution for the dispossession of their land rights following a Constitutional Court ruling that it was racially motivated.
The finding yesterday overturned Land Claims Court and Supreme Court of Appeal judgements, which held that as the termination of their labour tenancies was not racially based, they were not eligible for restitution.

The eight farmers were part of a community which settled on the farm Boomplats in Mooketsi in the 1800s, but were forced to became labour tenants to a succession of whites who later took ownership of the land. When their tenancy was terminated in 1969, they were not compensated for the loss of their land rights.
The Times

Credit Act - Lanice Steward
RodneyHayter.com - South Africa
Estate agents have been prolific in their warnings that the new National Credit Act will make life more difficult for bond applicants - but what exactly will they have to do now that was not obligatory previously?

Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, the Claremont headquartered estate agency, said that "put in simple terms", the new Act insists on full disclosure of all income and liabilities. Previously, she said, these facts could be glossed over or ignored provided that a satisfactory income statement was produced.

"Those applying for a bond now," said Steward, "will have to produce evidence of their last three months' earnings (if they are employed) or their last six months' earnings(if they are self-employed).
RodneyHayter.com

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