Weekly Newsletter
Friday, 17 June, 2005

Edition 22 of 2005, Friday, 17 June 2005

Dear Reader,

In 2003, one house buyer paid R950 000 for a comfortable, single-storey house on Bellevue Road in Sea Point. Just one year later, the buyer sold the same house for R2 750 000 - pocketing 190 percent profit.

It's not an unusual story in Cape Town, where real estate prices have soared for the past five years. Houses becoming less affordable, by Robbie Brown and Brett Meager

Don’t buy a house just because it’s a bargain — you might end up with more than you bargained for, warns Bruce Swain, regional director of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Beware the bargain

With the Comrades marathon still fresh in our minds there is no better place to Focus On this week than Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Pietermaritzburg is justifiably known as the City of Flowers, with private gardens and public parks aglow with lush foliage and seasonal blooms, such as bougainvilleas and azaleas. The National Botanical Gardens, one of eight in the country, is situated on an ancient floodplain and a hillside at the foot of a mist belt. Read more in Focus on.

As Spring approaches, you might be considering new ways to freshen and enliven your home's exterior appearance. Are your exterior colours the same as when you moved in? If so, try incorporating a new colour combination. In addition to improving the overall appearance with a splash of colour, your deck, doors, and siding will be better protected with a new coat of paint. In Have Fun we bring you an new innovate way in which you can paint your home before even buying one liter of paint.

CyberProp greetings!
The editor
>> Real Estate News - South Africa

Houses becoming less affordable - economists

In 2003, one house buyer paid R950 000 for a comfortable, single-storey house on Bellevue Road in Sea Point. Just one year later, the buyer sold the same house for R2 750 000 - pocketing 190 percent profit.

It's not an unusual story in Cape Town, where real estate prices have soared for the past five years...
>> Rental units available in sought after Retirement Village, Fontaine Bleau

Spanking new, Fontaine Bleau Retirement Village in die well sought after area of Welgelegen, are soon to be occupied by the first fortunate homeowners and tenants. These face brick Single Title Houses and Sectional Apartments are replacing the old fashioned terminology of old age homes through luxury retirement villages. Gone are the days of dark passages and small rooms where the aged would watch you as you pass by. Today’s retirement villages are modern design lock-up and go homes...
>> Suburbs face disruption as pipelines recoated

Residents of the Bluff and other south Durban suburbs are in for another three to four years of sporadic traffic disruption and roadside excavation while the city's two petrol refineries dig up and recoat 11km of buried fuel pipelines.

Sapref, which refines fuel for the Shell and BP groups, held a public meeting on the Bluff this week to announce its plans to recoat all seven of its fuel transfer pipelines which stretch from Reunion to Durban harbour...
>> Focus on Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Pietermaritzburg, set amidst forested hills and the rolling countryside of the Natal-Midlands, is one of the best-preserved Victorian cities in the world. The city is the administrative capital of the province and is centrally situated between Durban, the Drakensberg and KwaZulu-Natal's game reserves on the main N3 highway between Johannesburg and Durban; Pietermaritzburg is approximately 80km north of Durban by road...

View Properties in Kwazulu Natal | View Properties in Pietermaritzburg
>> Property of the week

Kwazulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg

High on the hill is this majestic Gentleman's Residence with views over all beneath you. Exquisite finishes and luxurious touches. Air conditioning, gas fireplace etc.

Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 3
Garages 3

Search for property in your area

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>> Beware the bargain

Don’t buy a house just because it’s a bargain — you might end up with more than you bargained for, warns Bruce Swain, regional director of RE/MAX of Southern Africa. Buying a property that is in less than perfect condition can save money, and can certainly be an opportunity to put your personal touch to the style of your new home, but there are many challenges to renovating that should not be overlooked and owners should be realistic about what they’re taking on...
>> Have fun - Now is the time to paint your house!
Colour Fantasizer has designed to be functional and intuitive to allow the user to experiment with ideas, colours and techniques without the hassle, expense and associated costs of applying them in reality before a decision is made. Colour Fantasizer does not intend to effect a decision but provide the user with all their colour options and effects made available to them.

The colours represented are intended to match as closely to the actual paint colour. The colours may vary due to printer, screen and other factors influencing the appearance and display. The onus lies on the user to check against the real colour and colour swatch. This software is intended to provide an indication of colour onto a surface so that the user may gain an idea to their colour, technique and other choices.

>> 600,000 millionaires created in 2004

NEW YORK - An additional 600,000 millionaires were created around the world in 2004, with North America and Asia leading Europe in the wealth stakes, according to a report.

There are now an estimated 8.3 million people who can claim to have one million dollars, excluding their main residence, according to the 2005 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

The report estimated the net worth of the world's wealthy elite at 30.2 trillion dollars, an 8.2% rise on 2003...
>> Software at its best!

CyberAgent - The Sales Manager

The CyberAgent Sales Manager manages property sales as well as the calculation of commissions

  • Existing property, seller and buyer information can be selected
  • This module also makes provision for the capturing of the bank, bond and transfer attorneys
  • The calculation of the commissions includes a selling agent, a buying agent and agency commission.
  • Commissions are automatically calculated but can be overwritten
  • A number of reports are available
  • When a property is involved in a sale and the sale has not been closed, the property sales status can either be “Conditional” or “Unconditional”. This is done automatically. Once a sale is closed the listing status in the “Property Manager” change to Not listed and the buyer will become the owner of the property

If you would like to know more about the above features and benefits that CyberAgent offer, visit: www.cyberagent.co.za or email: sales@cyberprop.com

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To Rent Property:
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