Residential Building Statistics
South Africa - Absa
Divergent trends in residential building activity in early 2019
Much in line with developments in 2018, private sector-financed building activity (see explanatory note) in the South African market for new housing showed divergent trends in early 2019, based on data released by Statistics South Africa.
The number of building plans approved for new housing was down by 19,8% year-on-year (y/y), or 2 160 plans, to 8 739 plans in the first two months of the year. The contraction in plans approved was driven by the two segments for houses, with the segment for flats and townhouses showing growth of 4,8% y/y over the 2-month period.
The volume of new housing units reported as being completed increased by 6,2% y/y, or 358 units, to a total of 6 101 units in January and February this year. The two segments for houses constructed showed a combined contraction of 2,1% y/y to a total of 2 784 in the first two months of the year. However, the number of flats and townhouses built was up by 14,4% y/y, or 418 units, to a total of 3 317 units in the above-mentioned 2-month period.
Building Statistics Feb 2019
Poor password protection leaves conveyancing sector vulnerable to data breaches
UK - Todays Conveyancer
Millions of people across the globe continue to use hack-able passwords, underestimating the importance of creating a unique password to protect themselves, their business and clients from cyber criminality.
The inaugural UK Cyber Survey, released by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has found that over 23 million people are still using ‘123456’ as their main password protecting their data from unscrupulous cyber criminals.
Incredibly, 7.7 million additional password users have opted for ‘123456789’ as their main password defence. The analysis of the 100,000 most commonly re-occurring passwords highlights the increased vulnerabilities to a law firm’s security if an ordinary password is used.
Todays Conveyancer
The A – Z of vetting tenants in a slow rental market
South Africa - Rawson
The South African rental market is going through a bit of a tough time right now, with both rental growth and tenant payment performance experiencing a multi-year decline. According to experts, this can make it more difficult than usual to secure reliable, trustworthy, and financially responsible tenants to avoid potential rental defaults and loss of income.
“Properly vetting tenants is always a vital part of any rental property’s success, but it’s even more important when the market is slow and demand is limited,” says Jacqui Savage, National Rentals Manager for the Rawson Property Group. “It can be tempting to let the vetting process slide in order to fill a vacant property sooner, but I can’t stress enough how dangerous this is for the security of your investment. It’s far, far more difficult and costly to get rid of an unreliable or non-paying tenant than it is to place a reliable one – particularly if you have professional help.”
Rawson
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