Values of industrial stands in the East Rand and Cape Town outperform the rest
South Africa - Rode
Despite of the poor performance of industrial stand values in the country overall, due to declining economic confidence, those in the East Rand and Cape Peninsula still managed to enjoy real growth in the second quarter of 2017. This is according to the latest Rode’s Report on the state of the property market in South Africa.
Commenting on this, property valuer Erwin Rode notes: “Growth of 8% on the East Rand and 7% in the Cape Peninsula has outperformed increases in building costs of 6%. And while this growth can really only be described as marginal, it is nevertheless still growth compared to how other industrial areas in the rest of the country are performing.”
Rode
Save on commission – unregistered estate agents don’t qualify!
South Africa - Privyseal
If your estate agent didn’t have a Fidelity Fund Certificate – a valid license to operate when they sold or rented you property – legally they were not permitted to receive any remuneration for their services. More than this, they are not even allowed to operate as an estate agent – much less earn a living from the trade.
What’s alarming about this truth is that, according to the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB), about 10 years ago there were as many as 80 000 registered estate agents whereas today this figure is sitting somewhere in the region of 30 000. A tally that’s greatly reduced – if still in business, that puts 50 000 as the number of agents potentially operating illegally in SA and, from all accounts, many fall outside the realm of legitimate operators.
What this means for consumers is they could avoid paying commission. In a world that’s full of scam artists, consumers must become savvier to protect themselves. This is particularly true in the case of a property sale where transactions generally involve vast sums of money.
Save on commission
Consumer Protection Act does not apply to all property transactions
South Africa - Alexander Swart
The wave of publicity that accompanied South Africa's widely praised Consumer Protection Act has led buyers (consumers) to believe that they are afforded a blanket protection covering every commercial transaction in which they are involved.
Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property, has, however, pointed out that in property dealing most transactions do not fall under the Consumer Protection Act.
One such is the sale of a residential property by its owner by means of a private treaty, i.e. with a standard Deed of Sale. In these cases, said Alexander, the agreement is not covered by the Consumer Protection Act because legally the seller is not classified as a 'supplier'.
CPA does not apply
Credit and mortgage advances
South Africa - Absa
Household credit and mortgage balances growth remaining subdued
The value of outstanding credit balances in the South African household sector continued to show relatively low growth in the first nine months of 2017, rising by 3,3% year-on-year (y/y) to a level of R1 522,6 billion.
Household secured credit balances (R1 170,2 billion and 76,9 % of total credit balances) increased by 3,3 % y/y in the 9-month period up to the end of September this year. This year-on-year growth in secured credit balances was the result of trends in household mortgage balances (see below), with growth in instalment sales balances (21,7% of total household secured balances and mainly related to vehicle finance) recorded at 4,4% y/y up to end-September.
Unsecured credit balances in the household sector (R352,3 billion and 23,1% of total credit balances) increased by 3,5% y/y in the period January to September this year. General loans and advances balances (58,5% of total unsecured credit balances and largely related to personal loans and micro finance) showed growth of 3,4% y/y up to the end of September.
Credit and mortgage advances (Sep 2017)
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