Properties for Sale: 122,320
Properties to Rent: 11,467

With the London Olympics opening ceremony just weeks away, the promise of rocketing house prices in the areas surrounding the Olympic site has not been fulfilled. In fact, according to a new report, the housing market in the area, particularly around Stratford to the east, has: “under-performed despite high expectations and new investment.”

First National Bank’s property barometer for the second quarter shows African foreign buyers increased from an estimated 8,5% of the total in 2010 to 20% this year...

Year-on-year (y/y) changes in nominal house prices in the South African housing market appeared to be stabilising after a period of some price declines‚ with the June y/y change in the medium-sized (141 square meters to 220 square meters) house segment steady at 1.1 percent y/y in both June and May‚ Absa [ASA] said on Monday...

Transformation in the SA real estate market has come a long way, with almost half of all home loan applications now being made by black buyers, compared with only about 12% a decade ago...

A weak developed world economy is keeping emigration selling low‚ and Africa’s improving economic situation may have begun to increase the significance of African-driven foreign buying in SA‚ says John Loos‚ household and property sector strategist at FNB...

Banks should be forced to invest in low-cost housing, SA Communist Party secretary general Blade Nzimande said on Thursday...

As confidence wavers in the ability of financial institutions to provide an adequate haven for the investment capital of average South Africans, so the need to find strong viable alternatives for one’s savings becomes more urgent...

The interest rates have remained at a 30-year low since November 2010 and are likely to stay there a while longer, says Adrian Goslett, CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa...

To mark Mandela Day, 18 July, the Chas Everitt International property group will be giving away 1000 warm winter blankets to various organisations around the country that care for needy people...

Sobering statistics suggest that most South African consumers are not savers and very often don’t have a financial plan for the future. The country’s current household saving rate is around 16%, which is relatively low when compared to other emerging markets...

The latest FNB segment house price review (for the first quarter of 2012) has shown that a marked slowdown in remuneration package rises has taken place since early 2008 and this has significantly increased the ‘affordability’ gap between average home prices and average wages. According to the FNB review, the gap has widened by 27, 2% since the first quarter in 2008...

Security-focused office parks are set to become increasingly popular – and will generally command higher office rentals and have lower vacancy rates than standalone office blocks, or office parks with a more half-hearted focus on security...

JOHANNESBURG has avoided being struck by the global property crash as its offices, shops and warehouses outperformed those in every global city outside of the country over the last decade.

As the City of Tshwane takes steps to deal with "bad buildings", Joburg has taken eight buildings in its inner city and turned them into affordable housing...

As green building principles increasingly take hold in South Africa we are seeing more and more of our ageing building stock being revitalised and retrofitted...

Condé Nast Traveler (US) in its recently announced 16th annual golf poll voted Steenberg as the Top Foreign Golf Resort of 2012...

Much publicity has been given in the South African property media recently to the boom experienced in the last decade or more in rentals of apartments sited close enough to the major universities to make a daily or in some cases a twice daily commute to these places easy and inexpensive...

In today’s modern world it has become increasingly common for women to keep their own names when getting married and it often happens that women have bought their own homes before marrying...

Are you ready for a new home?

Purchasing or selling a property is probably one of the most stressful things you could go through in life, and when it comes to the process, financing and legalities thereof most people become overwhelmed. It includes a lot of terms and forms that you may not be familiar with...

Michael Bauer, general manager of sectional title management company IHFM, has drawn attention to the latest TPN (Tenant Profile Network) report where, according to Stats SA, it mentions that 75% of landlords are actually micro-landlords (own one to ten properties and rent them out)...

The neat pleasant town of Kroonstad, the third-largest town in the Free State, lies two hours drive from Gauteng, making its position on the map as important as in the agricultural economy it supports...

>> Properties in Kroonstad
>> Properties in the Free State

Thriving Hermanus draws more permanent residents

Hermanus, long established as a favourite choice for holiday investors and retirees, is now displaying strong signs of a more sustained economy as the town draws more permanent residents.

Newlands and surrounding areas generating high rentals

The Upper Fernwood precinct, says Tony van der Lith, Rawson Properties’ franchisee for Newlands, Cape Town, has always been the most expensive section in his territory...

It often happens in sectional title schemes that there isn’t complete transparency when it comes to the owners’ and trustees’ contact details, says Michael Bauer, general manager of IHFM, the sectional title management company...

Widespread publicity concerning the Consumer Protection Act, (or the CPA), has led to some inaccurate, often unfortunate perceptions among those who would like to see consumers having greater powers (but who have often not studied the act seriously) - and nowhere is this more true than in the complicated subject of landlord-tenant relationships, says Wayne Albutt, Regional Manager for Rawson Rentals...

In terms of the Consumer Protection Act it is very important for a seller of a house to make sure he is covered effectively and for the agent to make sure that everything has been disclosed...

One of the issues that often causes difficulties in sectional title schemes is the right to exclusive use of a common area in the scheme and the costs thereof. Should the exclusive use come at an extra cost...

It sometimes happens that sectional title buildings encounter problems of mismanagement and become run down, even possibly unsafe in some cases and where the trustees have not taken due care of the management of the building, said Michael Bauer, general manager of IHFM, the sectional title management company...

“People often don’t realise when they sign up to be trustees in sectional title schemes the responsibility that they hold in terms of the rand value of the scheme. It is not just the value of your unit that you are protecting and managing, it is the value of the whole scheme, i.e. not just the R600 000 value of your flat, but if the scheme has 100 units, it’s actually a R60 million investment you are responsible for,” said Michael Bauer, general manager of IHFM, the sectional title management company...

It often happens in sectional title schemes that there isn’t complete transparency when it comes to the owners’ and trustees’ contact details, says Michael Bauer, general manager of IHFM, the sectional title management company...

Following a successful Johannesburg launch auction event which saw an excellent turnout of buyers supported by an 80% confirmation rate on the day, Aucor Property has announced...

While challenging conditions have prevailed in the property market during the first half of 2012, RE/MAX of Southern Africa has seen a marked increase in the number of property sales achieved per agent over the last six months...