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Weekly Property News
Friday, 21 May, 2010 |
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FROM THE EDITOR |
Dear Reader
In 21 days our beloved county South Africa will be
hosting the first African World Cup and by doing so not only
will we create a lasting legacy but will we also be bringing
in tourists in their numbers boosting the economy. The expected
capital inflows and direct investments can keep growth rates
above 4%. It should also create a positive impact on the property
market and not only in the short term but also on the long
term. However it wasn’t a good week for South Africa;
- The JSE plunged 3,23% on Thursday. Gold and other commodities
showed losses of up to 10%
- The Rand reached its weakest level in more than six months
against the dollar breaking through the 8.00 barrier
- Not only are strikes continuing but are they also spreading.
The National Union of Mineworkers declare work stoppages
at Eskom from next Wednesday. This could threaten electricity
supply during the Soccer World Cup. Already it was on Bloomberg
that should England loose this year they can blame the lack
of electricity in the stadiums.
What was positive for the property industry is that the numbers
of civil summonses issued decreased by 5,4% year-on-year in
March. This according to data from Statistics South Africa.
Headlines: “We now learn that South Africa had
the best performing housing market in the world over the longer
term according to figures from the authoritative ‘Economist’
magazine. The publication’s Global House Price Index
shows that SA house prices rose by a cumulative 418% over
the past 12 years (1997-2009). That far outstrips any of the
other 20 housing markets tracked by the index. The next best
performers were Australia, Britain and Spain with growth of
181 %, 175% and 167% respectively. And now for the good
news about SA property
Market news: There are still challenges, but the US
economy and property market are definitely in a “better
place” than they were a year ago, and that bodes well
for real estate elsewhere in the world.That’s the positive
message to emerge from a recent meeting in San Diego of Sotheby’s
International Realty directors and managers from around the
world, who took note of a US National Association of Realtors
report that sales of single family homes had shown a year-on-year
increase of 16,3% in March to 5,3m units, while the median
home price had risen 0,4%. Global real estate prospects
better, says Sotheby's International Realty
Enjoy!
The editor
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CyberProp
Property Count: 21/05/2010 |
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International
News |
| Africa’s
middle class: striving to develop a continent |
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BOSTON — An investment analyst in Ghana
who avoided life as a subsistence farmer by winning
a college scholarship.
A real estate agent in South Africa who sells
homes to "black diamonds," as the country's
upwardly mobile blacks are known...
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Local
News |
| 10
steps to a happier housing market |
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What steps should the new government take to
improve the UK's housing market? Liam Bailey,
Knight Frank's head of residential research, suggests
10 simple changes to get Britain's home buyers,
sellers, landlords and tenants smiling again...
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| And
now for the good news about SA property |
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South African property owners have had a veritable
cornucopia of good news in recent weeks, starting
with the unexpected announcement by the South
African Reserve Bank that it would cut interest
rates slightly, helping to ease the bond repayment
burden of hard pressed households...
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| Dormehl
Property Group’s view point on the house price index |
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Owen Dormehl, CEO of Dormehl Property Group says
“April’s double digit house price increase
is positive news indeed. Hopefully it will endower
our major banks with the confidence they require
to now further relax their lending criteria which
in turn will have the much needed knock-on effect
of assisting with the momentum required to sustain
this early evidence of real estate price growth...
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| Fixed
interest rates |
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If, for whatever reason, it is important to bondholders
to be able to budget ahead with complete accuracy,
it could be a good idea to fix the interest rate
on their bonds for a stipulated period –
but for most of us this is not a wise step to
take as it will almost certainly result in our
paying anything up to 4% more than the market
rate over the one to ten year periods for which
fixed rates are usually granted...
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| Access
bond has limits |
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In offering their clients more control over their
personal finances, about 10 years ago the banks
introduced a "flexible home loan" product,
a far cry from the traditional home loan that
merely needed to be repaid at a fixed installment
over a fixed period. Even though the product has
been on the market for some time, a lot of focus
has been placed on its advantages, while its limitations
have received very little attention...
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| Depressed
state of residential building activity continues |
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Residential building activity in the South African
housing market continued to experience a substantial
amount of strain on a year-on-year basis up to
March 2010. On a month-on-month basis conditions
in the planning phase deteriorated further, while
some improvement was noticed on the construction
side...
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| Sell
now - you will not lose out |
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Many property owners in the Western Cape are
finding it difficult to sell their homes because
they simply will not adjust their price expectations,
says Mike Greeff, CEO of Greeff Properties...
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| Assessing
exactly how much a buyer can afford |
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One of the challenges that every estate agent
has to face, said Anton du Plessis, CEO of Vineyard
Estates, is to decide whether the potential buyer
can in fact pay more than he said he is able to
or, alternatively, whether he is, in fact overstating
what he can pay...
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| Housing
'has to improve' |
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An investment in human settlements is an investment
in the future, President Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday...
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| Reckless
lending court decision |
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The recent court case in which ABSA Bank was
convicted of “reckless lending” in terms
of the National Credit Act will reinforce the
tendency of all SA banks towards being ultra-cautious
in the granting of bonds and this is “regrettable”,
says Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, because
they had just begun to show signs of easing up
on their loan criteria...
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| Location..
location.. location |
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Owen Dormehl, CEO of Dormehl Property Group said
“Apart from price, the most important factor
to the vast majority of today’s purchasers
definitely is security, security, security...
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Fireplaces
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With Cape Town now officially into its winter
season and regular rainy days becoming an accepted
part of the week, the Cape Town Building Centre
is, as always at this time of year, fielding numerous
enquiries about fireplaces...
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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;
- Durban’s Berea/Morningside
- Johannesburg
| In
the area 1 - Durban’s Berea/Morningside |
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Colonial Home on the Market in DurbanDurban’s
Berea/Morningside suburb, which is Durban’s
most central and established, probably houses
the best evidence of the city’s distinctly
colonial past – an eclectic mix of grand
old homes with an array of architectural styles
that include Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco and,
these days, even contemporary....
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| In
the Area 2 - Johannesburg |
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Joburg rate clearance nightmare
Property sellers in Gauteng are becoming increasingly
disgruntled with the Johannesburg City Council
which has fallen behind with the processing of
thousands of rate clearance certificates - essential
for the conclusion of property transfers...
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To
the editor |
| The following was posted on our blog:
To the editor:
I have read that a Sectional Title AGM
Can be helt up to 15 months after the last
one, is this true?
S Matthee
To the editor:
This is not true. The AGM must be held
4 months after the financial year end. If
there is a new body corporate established,
they have to have a AGM within 60 days.
Hope this helps.
Mike
www.sectionaltitlesa.co.za
To the editor:
IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND YOUR SECTIONAL TITLE
AGM, APPOINT A PROXY
Hi there Sonja,
The answer to your questions are:
1) He/she cannot vote in his personal capacity
for his/her own unit, but he/she can attend
a general meeting and counts to the quorum.
But he/she can vote as a proxy for other
owners. Remember, proxy do not have to be
owners, so it does not matter if there are
in good standing.
2) If all outstanding levies are settled
and the Chairman or the trustee have sufficient
proof, i.e. a letter from the attorney saying
that all funds have been received, it is
deemed settled. Simply because the money
is not yet transferred into the body corporate's
account has no relevance.
Hope this helps.
Mike
www.sectionaltitlesa.co.za
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Send your viewpoint to news@cyberprop.com
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News
from the Building Centre |
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Environmental/Green
Issues |
| Green
going mainstream |
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Owners of existing buildings may not be aware
of the meaningful cost and energy savings that
can be achieved by eliminating wasteful and unnecessary
practices...
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