 |
 |
Weekly Property News
Friday, 04 December, 2009 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
FROM THE EDITOR |
Read more in To the Editor
DISTRESSED sales of commercial property are on the
increase across the world, according to a new survey. The
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) asked for
feedback from real estate executives in 25 countries. The
study showed that 80% of the countries had seen an increase
in distressed sales during the third quarter of this year.
The biggest pick-up in distressed sales was reported in South
Africa, followed by the US, Portugal and France. Real estate
professionals expect the number of distressed properties coming
onto the market to increase into the fourth quarter across
19 of the 25 countries surveyed. www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk
Two of South Africa's big four banks put out contradictory
reports about the state of the housing market yesterday. FNB
and Standard Bank released their November house price indexes,
but though FNB said house prices showed slight growth last
month, Standard Bank said the opposite. According to FNB,
economic recovery was starting to favour homeowners as the
value of houses was on a gradual increase. FNB property strategist
John Loos said: "House prices are starting to inflate
and it is a sign the market is getting stronger. This is good
news for owners, but not for potential buyers." But Standard
Bank's property book for the first 11 months of this year
revealed an average monthly decline of 4.3 percent in the
average house price. Standard Bank senior economist Johan
Botha said the figures showed that it was a good time to buy,
but with an upfront deposit. Banks at odds over prices
Enjoy!
The editor
|
|
 |
In
This Issue |
|
Featured
Property |
|
|
|
|
|
Wellington,
Western Cape, South Africa
Celebrate the history of Wellington with the purchase
of a unit in the luxuriously appointed Grand Verdeau
- aptly named after the French Huguenot Hercule Verdeau
who received the land from Simon van der Stel in 1699.
Grand Verdeau consists of thirty 1 & 2 Bedroom
Apartments or Garden Cottages, each with their own allocated
parking...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CyberProp
Property Count: 04/12/2009 |
|
Real
Estate News International |
|
Local
News |
| Property
trumps share returns |
|
 |
Johannesburg - Properties have been South Africa's
finest investment vehicle over the past decade,
defying the norm that equities generate the best
long-term returns...
|
|
| Banks
at odds over prices |
|
 |
Two of South Africa's big four banks put out
contradictory reports about the state of the housing
market yesterday...
|
|
| Rawson
asks for an easing of National Credit Act |
|
 |
A review of credit regulations by the banks and
the government's financial policymakers right
now could ease the position of the many potential,
but not affluent, homebuyers, says Bill Rawson,
Chairman of Rawson Properties...
|
|
| Wellington
Student Accommodation for 2011 |
|
 |
Celebrate the history of Wellington with the
purchase of a luxuriously appointed Grand Verdeau
Apartment - aptly named after the French Huguenot
Hercule Verdeau who received the land from Simon
van der Stel in 1699...
|
|
| Tackle
downsizing the smart way |
|
 |
If you're downsizing to a smaller home for financial
reasons or like many people these days just trying
to "downshift" to an easier lifestyle
involving less home maintenance, you will probably
have some hard decisions to make about what to
take with you and what to leave behind...
|
|
| Get
set up properly to start a home business |
|
 |
The number of home-based businesses is rising
fast in reaction to corporate retrenchments and
job losses, higher fuel costs and worsening traffic
congestion in major centres...
|
|
| Home
business: What about VAT? |
|
 |
The question of when VAT is payable on the sale
of a residential property has new relevance in
the current economic cycle where many people are
establishing home-based businesses to make a living...
|
|
| Property
bargain-hunters salivate over V&A Waterfront |
|
 |
Could Cape Town's most prized real estate be
dumped by its Dubai owners for a song?
As Dubai's property woes deepen, speculation
is growing in South African property circles that
a sizeable stake in Cape Town's most prized real
estate...
|
|
|
News
From |
|
Focus
On |
|
|
|
Search
For Properties |
Search for property in your area
|
In
the Area |
The areas we are going to take a closer look at this
week are;
- City Bowl
- Cape Town
- Nelspruit
| In
the Area 1 - City Bowl |
|
 |
Cape Town City Bowl now short of residential
stock
A serious shortage of residential stock is now
being experienced by most estate agents in the
City Bowl area, says Lynne Wylde of Anne Porter
Knight Frank’s City Bowl office...
|
|
| In
the Area 3 - Nelspruit |
|
 |
Demand for commercial and industrial property
in Nelspruit has remained strong in spite of the
recession...
|
|
|
To
the editor |
|
| |
|
In our CyberAgent newsletter, our newsletter to the
estate agent and estate agency, we placed an article
Time
for agents to cut commissions and asked
them their viewpoint. We place two of the answers that
we've received.
JACKIE
1/3 OF ESTATE AGENCIES HAVE GONE OUT OF BUSINESS THIS
YEAR , THE REST ARE LUCKY TO BE BRAKING EVEN ,
I HAVE PERSONALLY HAD TO INVEST 3 MILLION RAND INTO
PROPROP TO PUT IT BACK ON AN EVEN KEAL .
I SUGGEST YOU RESEARCH YOU SUBJECT MORE FULLY BEFORE
GOING TO PRINT .
MY FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS ARE OPEN TO YOU IF YOU WOULD CARE
TO SEE THEM
KIND REGARDS
MIKE BENNETT
M.D. PROPROP
WWW.PROPROP.CO.ZA
I have been in the property selling
industry for 20 years, and would like to comment with
reference to your article.
In my 20 years' experience, I
have found the property industry to be extremely challenging
and fiercely competitive, and not, as you suggest in
your article, easy money.
Until the recent implementation
of the RPL system for training and qualifying estate
agents, ease of entry into the industry meant that during
every property boom thousands of new selling agents
were attracted to the industry.
Consequently, the "property
pie", although larger during property booms, had
to be divided among the existing selling agents as well
as the vast influx of newer agents attracted to the
industry by the prospect of earning millions of Rands!
During boom times, the "cream-on-top" for
our industry is never expansive enough to sustain so
many agents, and as soon as the market cools again the
newer, less experienced selling agents leave the industry
to return to former / enter other occupations and careers.
This exodus leaves those agents
who have made lifelong careers of selling property to
weather the storm - until the next upward turn in the
property cycle. In a recovery phase, when "career
agents" should be rewarded for surviving the tough
times, they were instead exposed to dramatically increased
competition as new agents join the industry - their
fight for survival continues even through the "good
times"!
A recent survey: "Estate
Agents not wealthy - study: It is really time to put
to bed the image of the high-flying estate agent earning
millions of rands a year" appeared in the Cape
Times last week. The findings of the survey reveal that
more than half (54%) of the agents polled earn R13 000
per month or less, which means that they could buy a
home costing around R400 000, whereas the average price
of the properties sold by estate agents in the past
year is over R1 million.
The article quotes Dr. Willie
Marais, National President of the Institute of Estate
Agents (IEASA): "..not even one agent in five is
earning the kind of income that would enable them to
buy a home costing R1m or more - despite the fact that
the typical agents works full-time (an average of 42,5
hours per week).."
While it is true that there are
estate agents who have indeed made millions, these represent
a fraction of the agent population in this country.
Regards
Lee Siebert
Broker / Owner
RE/MAX Helderberg
www.remax.co.za
Share your comments with us by sending it to news@cyberprop.com
|
|
Upcoming
Events |
|
1. Green Star SA Accredited Professional Courses
We are pleased to announce that the next round
of Green Star SA Accredited Professional Courses
will be run in Johannesburg.
Date: 4 February 2010
Venue: The Forum, Bryanston
BOOK NOW to avoid dissapointment! Registrations
are done online and are taken on a first come
first serve basis.
For more information please consult our website
at www.gbcsa.org.za.
2. Green Star SA - Eco-0 Revision and Feedback
period
The Green Building Council of South Africa is
requesting public feedback on the Green Star SA
- Eco-0 Conditional Requirement Revision.
Any person or organisation involved in the green
building industry is encouraged to provide comments
concerning this proposed revision.
Public comment period closes on 14 December,
2009.
Please refer to the Eco-0 conditional requirement
and background information in the Green Star SA
Office v1 rating tool, available at here.
If you wish to submit feedback, please do so
using the feedback form, attach the file to an
email, and send it to greenstarsa@gbcsa.org.za.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
