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Weekly Newsletter
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Friday, 17 July , 2009
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| >> Real Estate news – The Zimbabwe-ification of South Africa? |
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| >> Home Ownership Was Never a Road to Riches |
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We’ve been pretty lucky. We’ve never overpaid much for a house,
we’ve always bought in good school districts and decent neighborhoods,
we’ve lived in neighborhoods where prices soared during the real-estate
bubble, and we’ve been hurt but not decimated by the bursting of
that bubble...
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| >> Hopes grow as emerging markets gain access to bonds |
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Neethling was commenting on FNB’s decision to offer bonds to individuals or families whose monthly earnings are below R15 000 and ABSA’s decision to make bonds available to those earning below R11 000...
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| >> Recovery! Kind of... |
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But don't get too excited at this stage, warned FNB Home Loans strategist John Loos. The second quarter results of the survey showed a 'stuttering' in the recent trend in demand activity levels...
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| >> FNB’S 95% bonds to selected buyers could be the catalyst that he residential sector needs, says Lanice Steward |
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“FNB,” said Steward, “is now offering 95% bonds to certain qualified buyers. This will be a big help to the market as a whole...
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| >> Rawson Properties join FNB in their innovative programme to assist financially stresses homeowners |
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Rawson Properties has become one of FNB’s nominated estate agent partners in their new Quick Sell Plan initiative. In response to the global recession (which has impacted so severely on SA residential property), FNB has come up with a new home loan Debt Remedy Programme designed to help customers who are experiencing financial difficulties and struggling to repay their mortgage bonds...
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| >> “Local is still lekker" when it comes to comparing SA and overseas property purchase opportunities, says Rawson MD |
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| >> Homebuyers hard hit by three sets of substantial fee increases |
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Firstly, says Neethling, there was, in February, a big rise in the Deeds Office registry fees – and these came on top of earlier increases in September last year....
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| >> Manners maketh sales to foreign buyers |
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Africa is becoming a business destination, bringing many foreigners in search of business opportunities - and residential property. Long regarded as the basket case of the world, the continent is slowly reversing its fortunes with the sum in investment overtaking international financial aid for the first time in 2006...
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| >> Chas Everitt Home MakeOver - A Home Makeover with a Difference! |
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| >> SA’s biggest property investor on the prowl offshore |
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Global real estate markets appear attractively priced for an investor with a long term horizon, say some property fund managers. According to the July review of the listed property sector by Catalyst Fund Managers, this does not necessarily mean there is value in every market and in every property stock...
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| >> Zululand property market stirring |
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The upper stretch of the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, often overlooked as the area further south boomed, is now beginning to gain ground as the next big property mecca. Rene Baumann, the ERA Unique franchisee in Richards Bay and St Lucia, says the region from north of the Tugela River to St Lucia and beyond, is showing early signs of recovery from the economic doldrums, possibly ahead of the rest of KZN...
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| >> Garages: common property? |
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It will cost more than R5500 to fix it; am I responsible to repair this...
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| >> Care needed when using new globes |
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While the bulbs are extremely energy efficient, they contain mercury, a neurotoxin that can cause kidney and brain damage. The amount in each CFL is only about 5mg – or just enough to cover the tip of a pen - but that is enough to contaminate about 30 000L of water beyond the safety limits set by international research...
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| >> To the editor |
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Kevin Harris Share your comments with us by sending it to news@cyberprop.com
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| >> News from Rawson Properties |
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IT IS ESSENTIAL TO CHECK THE FINANCIAL POSITION OF SECTIONAL TITLE SCHEMES BEFORE BUYING, SAYS RAWSON MD Addressing a meeting of Western Cape Rawson Properties franchisees, Tony Clarke, the MD of Rawson Properties, told them that anyone from Rawsons involved in sectional title schemes must help the buyer to assess the scheme thoroughly before signing an agreement to purchase...
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| >> In the area... |
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The areas we are going to take a closer look at this week are;
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| >> In the area 1 – Bronkhorstspruit |
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Eskom’s policy of employing local residents at its new Kusile power station has boosted the property market in surrounding towns. The power station is being built roughly in the centre of a triangle formed by Witbank, Delmas and Bronkhorstspruit and is expected to create about 20 000 new job opportunities. As a result all three towns are experiencing an influx of new labour looking for accommodation, says Koos Pretorius of RealNet Kungwini...
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| >> In the area 2 – Knysna |
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Knysna bucks the trend
"Historically, Knysna's residential property sales occur mainly between November and May and as an area in total we are seeing sales activity back up to levels experienced two years ago. Our total sales for May 2009 were R14.9-million compared to R9.8-million for the same period last year. In other words, it's up by 52 percent," says Ling Dobson, area principal for Pam Golding Properties (PGP)...
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| >> Focus on 2010 Fifa Football World Cup |
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Exceptional hospitality, passionate fans, pulsating football - if the quality of the football during the 2009 ConFed Cup games is anything to go by, the world is in for an absolute feast when the World Cup arrives in Africa for the first time in 2010...
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| >> Property of the week |
Search for property in your area |
| >> QE2 'could be moved to Cape Town' |
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Cape Town in South Africa is believed to be the front-runner as a new home for the cruise liner. Cunard sold the Southampton-based liner for £50m to real estate developer Nakheel in the United Arab Emirates. The revamp is currently on hold...
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| >> Software at its best! |
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The Property Manager provides you with a very extensive and detailed
list of criteria which you can capture for your property listings and
gives you the control to decide how you would want these properties to
be displayed on the Internet
 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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For Sale Property: To Rent Property: |
The
decision by certain South African banks to offer bonds to the emerging
market is welcome, says Ivan Neethling, Chairman of the Western
Cape branch of the Institute of Estate Agents - but it should raise
questions about the banks’ policies on bonds in general, he
says. Neethling was commenting on FNB’s decision to offer bonds
to individuals or families whose monthly earnings are below R15
000 and ABSA’s decision to make bonds available to those earning
below R11 000. Hopes grow as emerging markets gain access
to bonds
A
mild recovery in residential property demand from late last
year is continuing, shows the FNB Residential Property Barometer
survey released on Wednesday. But don't get too excited at this
stage, warned FNB Home Loans strategist John Loos. Recovery!
Kind of…
The
revival of the residential property sector has been held
back by the banks’ reluctance or inability to fund bonds on
their previous scale – but there are, says Lanice Steward,
MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, now signs that the situation is
changing gradually.“FNB,” said Steward, “is now offering
95% bonds to certain qualified buyers. This will be a big help to
the market as a whole.” FNB’s 95% bonds to selected
buyers could be the catalyst that the residential sector needs,
says Lanice Steward
“The
FNB Quick Sell Plan (QSP),” says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson
Properties, “enables distressed homeowners to sell their
properties – voluntarily – in the shortest possible
time and to move forward, clear of a debt burden that they can no
longer service. It greatly reduces the time and expense of the usual
recovery processes.” Rawson Properties join FNB in their
innovative programme to assist financially stressed home owners
"The
road ends here," reads a makeshift sign in the middle of the highway
connecting Bulawayo with South Africa. For many miles, the once busy commercial
artery between Zimbabwe's second largest town and its main market has
simply ceased to exist. Motorists have to wind their way on an improvised
gravel path through the open bush. All along the route, they can observe
once productive farms lying abandoned and once productive farm workers
scavenging for food...
My
wife and I have sold all of our four previous homes for more than we paid
for them—sometimes a lot more.
The
decision by certain South African banks to offer bonds to the emerging
market is welcome, says Ivan Neethling, Chairman of the Western Cape branch
of the Institute of Estate Agents - but it should raise questions about
the banks’ policies on bonds in general, he says.
A
mild recovery in residential property demand from late last year is continuing,
shows the FNB Residential Property Barometer survey released on Wednesday.
The
revival of the residential property sector has been held back by the banks’
reluctance or inability to fund bonds on their previous scale – but
there are, says Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, now signs
that the situation is changing gradually.
Since
the onset of the global recession there have, says Tony Clarke, MD of
Rawson Properties, been numerous advertisements in the SA media for “bargain”
buys in UK, USA and European property. Some advertisements, said Clarke,
are claiming that the current prices are 40 to 50% lower than they were
at peak – and South Africans are advised to make use of the new strength
of the rand to benefit...
Three
different sets of fee increases in the past few months have added a heavy
burden to the upfront costs of ownership of a residential property - and
they have come at a time when the hard pressed consumer really cannot
afford them, says Ivan Neethling, the Chairman of the Western Cape
branch of the Institute of Estate Agents.
As
global real estate company values tick up, local investors scour for lucrative
property opportunities elsewhere 
Question:
Compact
fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are generally welcomed as a more efficient
alternative to incandescent bulbs – but environmentalists and health
experts are now concerned about their long-term impact.
Yes
!we all know and understand the banking cartels reluctance to take any
risks at all , perhaps a part of which , has being a bitter saving grace
for our banking system. All we hope that that , now , with " the
proverbial green shoots " beginning to sprout in the market as we
slowly exit the bottom the trough , the true sprit of competition will
once again begin amongst these giants of the banking world .Lets hope
that more competition arises to ensure we get the choices for our clients
that should exist in a capitalist market.
Kusile
powers Bronkhorstspruit property
Pam
Golding Properties' sales in Knysna during May was up by 52 percent compared
to the same month last year.
In
2010 the Fifa World Cup will be hosted in South Africa. Some 3-million
tickets will be available for the 2010 World Cup's 64 matches.
The
owners of the QE2 have admitted the ship may be moved to another port
before work to refurbish it and turn it into a floating hotel off Dubai
begins.