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Weekly Property News
Friday, 22 January, 2010 |
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FROM THE EDITOR |
Dear Reader
2009 was not as all that bad for South Africa as far
as the drop in house prices. The average drop year
on year was 3,9% according to FNB. It might sound a lot to
you but compare to the White House we did not do that bad
at all. The White House value has fallen by 5.1% since Obama
took office a year ago. This according to an online property
database Zillow.
There is a chance that the Reserve Bank will cut interest
rates in the first quarter of this year. Local markets are
betting there is virtually no chance that the Bank will ease
monetary policy any further after lowering its key repo rate
by a total of five percentage points to seven percent last
year. But some analysts put the odds of a further reduction
as high as 35 percent, given that a stronger currency improves
the inflation outlook by making imports cheaper. News
from iAfrica
Headlines: The worst wasn't bad. Why is South Africa
in better shape than other housing markets? We are
constantly reminded that we are part of one big, interconnected
world and that whatever decisions are made in economic powerhouses
like the US and China will affect us on our doorstep. Yet,
the world's financial crisis which saw property markets
crash, and continue to topple, around the world and our own
recession have barely registered a blip on South Africa's
house prices. SA escapes global house price crash -
new stats
Market news: Another of the higher profile CEO’s
in the real estate marketing sector, Anton du Plessis,
has testified that 2010 has kicked off with a totally different
and far more positive – set of ‘indicators’.
“ “The first days of 2010 are already looking far
more promising than those of the same period last year,”
he said. New conditions ushered in 2010 –
Correctly priced houses now selling fast
Enjoy!
The editor
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Local
News |
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SA escapes global house price crash - new stats |
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The worst wasn't bad. Why is South Africa
in better shape than other housing markets?
We are constantly reminded that we are part of
one big, interconnected world and that whatever
decisions are made in economic powerhouses like
the US and China will affect us on our doorstep...
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| 2009
Price drops were not as serious as many believe, says
APFK MD |
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The latest figures to be released by John Loos,
FNB’s residential property economist, show
that 2009 was not nearly as bad a year for residential
property as many believe, says Lanice Steward,
MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank and, she adds,
APKF’s year end figures confirm this...
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| Why
it's not selling |
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With the property market beginning to show signs
of a recovery, it is more important than ever
to ensure your home is correctly priced...
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| Off-plan
pros and cons |
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Buying property “off plan” holds many
benefits for first-time buyers and others without
large sums of cash for transfer duties and other
hidden costs, but there are some potential pitfalls...
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| SARS
should review transfer duty scale |
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Tony Clarke calls for a drop in transfer tax
Countries that genuinely place a high value on
individual home ownership almost always ensure
that their property transfer tax is low...
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| Property
rights: Who is most powerful? |
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Municipal officials rule roost when it comes
to regulating, controlling land use - new court
case
Our Supreme Court has put an end to the struggle
between certain tiers of government over the authority
to regulate and control land use...
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| Importance
of checking that correspondence has been received |
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KZN case confirms importance of checking that
correspondence has been received
A decision handed down by the Kwazulu Natal high
court, says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties,
makes it clear that in any correspondence between
a tenant and a landlord, the sender of the communication
is responsible for seeing that the recipient received
it, whether it be a letter, email or telegram...
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In
property transactions a qualified conveyancer is the
key figure
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Among those selling and buying property there
is sometimes a perception that the conveyancer
is an “extra” who has cornered a simple,
largely standardised but lucrative legal process
for himself and his colleagues when in fact it
could be handled by any intelligent clerk...
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| Make
those For Sale signs work for you |
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An ongoing topic of discussion in the real estate
industry is For Sale signs – and how unsightly
they can be if there are no proper controls over
where and when they appear or how many of them
agents may use...
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| Go
green in your veggie garden |
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If you’re lucky enough to have a garden,
growing things organically is a great way to start
living “green” and doing your part to
save the planet – especially in the summer
when outdoor living is the order of the day...
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| Home
building crumbles |
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StatsSA's November building stats continue to
point towards an extremely weak picture for the
residential building sector...
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| Cape
Town's Building Centre now has 200 exhibitors |
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Those looking for evidence that the property
construction sector is now into a recovery phase
will be interested to learn that Jamie Heathcote-Marks,
General Manager of the Building Centre in Rondebosch,
Cape Town, has noticed a steady rise in visitors
and enquiries since October last year...
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CyberProp
Property Count: 22/01/2010 |
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Real
Estate News International |
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Focus
On |
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Search
For Properties |
Search for property in your area
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In
the Area |
The areas we are going to take a closer look at this
week are;
- Hillcrest
- The Cape
- Port Elizabeth
| In
the Area 1 - Hillcrest |
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Growing confidence buoys market in Hillcrest
Homebuyers are showing more confidence in all
sectors of the property market in the Hillcrest
area to the west of Durban...
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| In
the Area 2 - The Cape |
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The latest ABSA property review shows that house
prices declined only marginally in 2009 after
serious drops in 2008. Since May they have in
fact been rising in nominal terms...
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| In
the Area 3 - Port Elizabeth |
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Motor industry recovery boosts home demand
in PE
The residential property market in Port Elizabeth
is showing signs of a strong rebound on the back
of improving prospects for the motor industry
and more positive buyer sentiment...
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News
from iAfrica |
| Rand
fuels rate cut hopes |
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There is a chance that the Reserve Bank
will cut interest rates in the first quarter
of this year, but the move would not curb
gains in the rand, which are being driven
by global forces, analysts say...
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To
the editor |
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2010! It’s predicted that it will be the year
of the steel as the outlook for the global steel industry
is looking very positive. Let’s hope that we can
change it to the year of the property industry.
Share your comments with us by sending it to news@cyberprop.com
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