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Small Developers Becoming A Trend
Thursday, May 31, 2007 (175 reads)
Small, independent developers have become a significant feature of the property market in recent years - but the phenomenon brings with it dangers as well as benefits.
"Traditionally in South Africa, development was very much the prerogative of larger companies, but while the big players are obviously still very much in the picture, recent years have also seen the emergence of numerous small independents," says Gerhard Kotzé, CEO of the ERA South Africa property group.
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Gauteng Construction Burgeoning
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 (182 reads)
Gauteng's construction and peripheral industries are set to experience an 'explosion' never seen before in South Africa in the coming years, according to Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim.
He said on Tuesday that approximately R1.2 trillion was expected to flow through these sectors and their extended supply chains - a sharp contrast to the R700m that was spent during the past three years.
He bases this on the performance of the Gauteng Business Barometer (GBB), a unique index that measures Gauteng's economic activity on a monthly basis, which revealed an especially robust construction industry in April, with activity levels remaining nearly 20% higher than in the same month last year
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Rental Stock Shortage Coming
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 (173 reads)
Is the long-awaited recovery in the buy-to-let market finally in sight? It certainly seems so. More than one report released in recent weeks by banks and other property commentators suggests that there's a growing shortage of rental stock priced below R6 000 pm developing in most of South Africa's cities.
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New Agency Aims To Topple Big Names
Monday, May 28, 2007 (177 reads)
Though the R240bn/year real estate industry has in recent years seen an influx of new players wanting to share in the spoils of a buoyant housing market, nobody has yet come close to toppling the dominant brands, such as Pam Golding Properties, Seeff Properties and RE/MAX.
But new kid on the block Leapfrog believes it has the right business model and management credentials to do just that. Industry veteran Jan le Roux, former CEO of the PA Group, founded the black-owned franchise estate agency three months ago. Ex-RE/MAX CEO Bruce Swain heads the management team.
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Credit Act Could Increase Bond Fees
Friday, May 25, 2007 (175 reads)
Homebuyers could be slapped with substantially higher fees on new mortgage agreements from the first of June this year when the National Credit Act (NCA) takes effect. The NCA introduces a new fee structure for banks and other mortgage lenders, that raises the limit on the fees that banks are allowed to charge clients for mortgages.
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New index puts home price growth at 24%
Thursday, May 24, 2007 (176 reads)
New index puts home price growth at 24%
Business Report
The Lighthouse Residential Property Price indices which were launched on the 19th of April 2007 puts South Africa’s average price inflation rate at 24% at 2006 and at 33% at 2004 and 2005 with the cumulative house price inflation rate between 1999 and 2006 being 288%.
Lighthouse, unlike other property price indices, uses repeat sales data in its calculations. As these indices are not weighted the sale of a few really expensive properties will not skew its figures.
According to Miller, Lighthouse’s managing director, the indices use globally accepted repeat sale methodology and the indices cover not only the national market but also the differences between sub-segments defined according to geography, property value and property type.
Loos, FNB property strategist, said the new indices highlighted the volatility in the coastal market, which has slowed done drastically as a result of the higher interest rate. It also supported the current view that the low end of the market was out performing the other sectors.
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Absa invests in Sekunjalo
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 (196 reads)
Johannesburg - Absa Corporate and Business Bank (ACBB, ASA) has acquired nearly 10% of the "B" shares in JSE listed empowerment group Sekunjalo Investments Limited (SKJ, SIL), Sekunjalo said on Wednesday.
The shares are issued at 82 cents per share and the cash resources will have an earnings enhancement on the group, it added.
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Quality Of New Stock 'a Concern'
Tuesday, May 22, 2007 (175 reads)
Demand for new housing is causing some contractors to 'rush' the work. Property leaders are concerned about the structural quality of some of these houses.
Correctly researching and implementing new property developments is the key to meeting demand in a softer market, particularly in terms of emerging buyers.
So says Andre van Rooyen, recently appointed as Homenet regional manager responsible for Mpumalanga, Limpopo and northern Gauteng, who notes that demand in these areas is still solid, particularly at the lower end of the market and that there is good value growth across the price spectrum.
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Black Home Buyers Up 24% In 15 Mths
Monday, May 21, 2007 (176 reads)
The number of Black Diamond families living in suburbs in South Africa's metropolitan areas has grown from 23% to 47% in the past 15 months.South Africa's black middle class, increasingly referred to as Black Diamonds, has grown by an astonishing 30% in just over a year, according to a major new study conducted by UCT/Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing and TNS Research Surveys.
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New Hope For Buy-to-let Homes
Friday, May 18, 2007 (184 reads)
Is the long-awaited recovery in the buy-to-let market finally in sight? It certainly seems so.
More than one report released in recent weeks by banks and other property commentators suggests that there's a growing shortage of rental stock priced below R6 000/month developing in most of South Africa's cities.
That's good news for landlords, who in recent years have struggled to pass rental increases on to tenants when leases came up for renewal. In many cases, landlords were happy to forfeit the annual rental increase as long as they could retain the tenant.
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