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Weekly Property News
Friday, 04 June, 2010 |
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FROM THE EDITOR |
Dear Reader
The Fifa Soccer World Cup 2010 is here! With only
6 days to go the fever is running high among South Africans.
Young and old are waiting for premium football viewing. Our
newsletter this week is packed with property news and other
property related articles but let’s first bring you some
soccer news;
- Makhenkesi Stofile, the Minister of Sport and Recreation,
has revealed that old President Nelson Mandela will be at
Soccer City for the opening match next week. However his
grandson told the press yesterday that he is too frail to
attend. As South Africans we can only wait to see if he
will make his appearance in the famous no 4 jersey. The
number that the South African team captain, Aaron Mokoena,
will be wearing
- If you would like to take soccer bets from the bookies
the favourite at the moment is to bet on what teams will
be in the final. The strongest selection at the moment with
the shortest odds is a Brazil V Spain final. The second
favourite is a Spain V England final. Seems like they’ve
never heard of Bafana Bafana. Watch our boys!
- The majestic Soccer City Stadium, venue for both the opening
and final match of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, has won rave
reviews from Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who described
it as "a five-star stadium" and one of the most
beautiful in the world.
- And what about our favourite, Eskom? Eskom says it is
more than ready to power up 2010 Fifa World Cup, with key
industrial customers prepared to reduce demand if necessary,
and with peaking power stations and electricity imports
from neighbouring countries available should the need arise.
Headlines: Thousands of the more affluent people in
South Africa eagerly refurbished, furnished and stocked (with
bed linen, towels, cutlery and crockery) the investment townhouses
that were supposedly going to make them a fortune. Many of
these townhouse owners had signed deals with a group called
Classic Hospitality who in turn had signed a contract with
MATCH, FIFA’s official booking agent. The deal with Classic
was one of many that cropped up in the past 18 months or so.
Several property companies put out leaflets around the suburbs
of Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban at seducing
homeowners into renting their properties for the duration
of the World Cup. And the figures they were bandying about
were spectacular: promises of making between $5k and $8k a
day for the full duration of the event and that’s equivalent
to between $150k and $240k for the month. Then, last week,
MATCH cancelled its arrangement with Classic Hospitality who,
in turn, cancelled its contracts with the respective townhouse
owners, leaving them high and dry having incurred a number
of expenses in getting their units up to standard. Refurbished
and empty for the World Cup
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Market news: The median house price financed is on a
slow recovery path. The outlook for the sector remains constructive;
however, a confluence of factors will limit the market from
showing a significantly higher recovery this year. Despite
improved affordability, the housing market remains constrained
by (1) high household indebtedness, (2) high unemployment,
(3) risks to the economic growth outlook, and by extension
income growth. Residential property gauge navigating
through a tough cycle
Enjoy!
The editor
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International
News |
| Prime
Central London Index May 2010 |
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Headlines:
· Prices in central London rose in May
by 1.4%, the fourteenth consecutive monthly rise
· Prices are now 23% higher than they were
are the low point in March last year...
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Local
News |
| Refurbished
and empty for the World Cup |
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Thousands of the more affluent people in South
Africa eagerly refurbished, furnished and stocked
(with bed linen, towels, cutlery and crockery)
the investment townhouses that were supposedly
going to make them a fortune...
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| Gautrain
spinoffs start to gel |
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The property market on the Gautrain route axis
is stirring and should speed up with the launch
next week (subs: 8 June) of the first leg of the
rapid transport system from Sandton to OR Tambo
International airport...
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| Demand
for affordable property remains strong |
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The current low interest rates and the banks’
decision to provide 100% home loans, for properties
below the R1,5 million mark, available to first
time homebuyers and buyers/households earning
less than R15,000 per month, has boosted the demand
for affordable property at the Bardale Village
Development, a security lifestyle village, in
Kuils River close to Zevenwacht Mall...
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| Important
to check insurance during occupation |
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If you’ve sold your home and agreed that
the buyer can take occupation before transfer
is registered, it is important to make sure that
the property will remain properly insured during
the occupation period...
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| Sell
fast, get your price |
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Are you having trouble selling your house? You’re
not alone — the market is tough and potential
takers are few and far between. Now, more than
ever, it’s vital that those interested in
your home see it at its finest...
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| What
to look for when buying a property |
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Buying a home is probably one of the biggest
investments you will ever make. However, don't
let buying your dream home become a nightmare
- there are various aspects that should be considered
carefully before you buy a house...
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| Leisure
properties still hold value |
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Globally real estate agents in several resort
areas suggest that the time is right to purchase
a holiday home because of a larger inventory and
favourable prices...
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Home businesses not all bad for HOAs |
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The issue of home-based businesses in security
villages and estates has become a tricky question
for the bodies corporate and home owners’
associations (HOAs) that run such developments...
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Tshwane – rate clearance problems |
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PRETORIA - The City of Tshwane has denied that
there are problems with the issuing of municipal
clearance certificates within the council. In
April the Democratic Alliance submitted a set
of questions to the council after receiving a
flurry of public complaints about the calculation
of service bills and the subsequent delay in the
issuing of clearance certificates to deeds attorneys...
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Make your rooms 'bigger' |
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With many homes these days being smaller than
those of yesteryear, it has become essential to
find ways of making interiors look bigger, says
Mike Greeff, Chief Executive of Greeff Properties...
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Stone and slate products now very much 'in' |
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One of the major advantages of visiting Cape
Town’s Building Centre, says their Public
Relations Manager, Cheryl Neave, is that it gives
the homeowner/architect/specifier the chance to
compare rival products...
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CyberProp
Property Count: 04/06/2010 |
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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;
- Atlantic Seabord
- Hermanus
- Mauritius
| In
the area 1 - Atlantic Seabord |
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Adding to its highly successful Northern Suburbs,
Southern Suburbs, Western
Seaboard and City Bowl franchises in Cape Town,
the dynamic Chas Everitt
International property group is now opening an
Atlantic Seaboard office...
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| In
the Area 2 - Hermanus |
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Hermanus remains a destination of choice for
South Africans relocating to the coast –
and cash sales still represent a big chunk of
transactions...
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| In
the Area 3- Mauritius |
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Mauritius: a beautiful and sound investment
Real estate in Mauritius is in high demand,
largely thanks to the Mauritian government’s
decision to invest time, resources and money into
changing the way the country attracts and conducts
business, both locally and internationally...
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To
the editor |
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News
from News from the Building Centre |
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It is time to improve your home's insulation
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With winter now making many Cape homes considerably
colder and less welcoming than they were in summer,
this is a good time to consider installing - or
adding to - the ceiling insulation of most homes,
says Cheryl Neave, PR Manager of Cape Town’s
Building Centre...
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News
from The Green Building Council |
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Multi Unit Residential tool
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Call for Technical Consultant proposals for
Green Star SA – Multi Unit Residential tool
The Green Building Council of South Africa is
pleased to announce that we are commencing the
development of the next Green Star SA rating tool,
for Multi Unit Residential projects. Similar to
the development of the existing Office v1 and
Retail Centre v1 tools, we will use the basis
of the Australian Green Star tool and customise
it for South Africa through a 9 month process.
A Technical Working Group of volunteer industry
experts will provide input to the process, but
the role of the Technical Consultant will be to
provide the detailed technical research, benchmarking,
and determination of local reference standards,
along with development of the actual rating tool
and associated calculators and writing of the
Technical Manual for the tool. A detailed scope
of work is provided in the Request for Proposals
document.
All interested parties should review the Request
for Proposals available
here
Due date for proposals is close of business,
Friday 25 June
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