A whopping 47 percent of first time buyers and 36 percent of all owners of property registered at the deeds office in South Africa are black — an increase of 63.4 percent in the past 10 years.

But, says Kura Chihota, Executive Director of the Leapfrog Property Group, this might be giving the wrong impression of transformation within the property industry as many of the deals are formalisations of township leases and activity in rural poor areas, often of an RDP nature...

INVESTORS and analysts tend to focus on distribution growth but do not necessarily pay enough attention to the actual quality of the underlying property portfolios of listed property companies and funds.

The quality of the property portfolio will influence the long-term earning prospects of the companies and funds concerned, says Nedbank Corporate Property Finance MD Frank Berkeley...

Rodney Hayter

CAPE TOWN (August 20) As more commuters are forced to use to public transport, there is an increasing demand for properties close to railway stations and bus terminals, according to Rob Lawrence, business development manager at Rawson Properties, who notes that South Africans are now reacting as never before to the high cost of fuel, the time wasting involved in commuter traffic jams and the difficulties in finding CBD parking.

“In many areas like Fish Hoek, Muizenberg, Parow, Bellville and Parklands, we are seeing a demand for properties which are within walking distance of railway stations and bus terminals,” said Lawrence. “We are also seeing an ongoing call in demand for City Bowl properties, especially rented property...

A brand new home means you don’t inherit stained carpets and patchy paint – but there are pitfalls.

So says Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group, who has the following tips to help you negotiate the purchase of a new home...

Astute entrepreneurs, investors, developers can get in now on the groundfloor of the next big property wave - real estate experts

Can you make an odourless, waterless urinal? Perhaps producing toxin-free paint is something that appeals more? Maybe you'd prefer to be an adviser, offering tips on global trends and looming legislation.

These and many other business opportunities are emerging as South Africa's commercial property developers and investors enter a new era of designing and constructing "green buildings" - those that are more friendly to the environment...

Senior citizens in the established south-eastern suburbs of Pretoria are unlocking value in their homes by renting to tenants and becoming tenants themselves.

Lenie Visagé of RealNet Realty, which serves suburbs such as Irene, Pierre van Ryneveld, Elarduspark and Erasmuskloof, says this new trend makes good sense for older homeowners who want to scale down because of security and home maintenance factors...

Mayor of Cape Town and Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Helen Zille, is standing outside her first home, a semidetached house in Earl Street, Woodstock. She’s chatting to delighted locals and signing autographs while listening patiently to the residents’ host of gripes on subjects ranging from unfair dismissal to electricity price hikes. ‘Oh, please don’t call me Madam Mayor, it reminds me of the old South Africa. I’m Helen,’ she declares cheerfully...

The demand for rental properties is intensifying countrywide as conditions for property purchasing become increasingly problematic and stock shortages are starting to appear.

That’s the broad consensus from various ERA offices around the country, says group CEO Gerhard Kotzé, who notes that while the inability to afford homes at current interest levels and difficulty in obtaining home loans are the biggest factors driving the rental market...

Pretoria - A multibillion-rand building boom is taking place in South Africa's major cities, a sizeable portion of which is unrelated to the 2010 soccer World Cup or the Gautrain rapid rail project.

Jacques du Toit, a senior property analyst at Absa, said the planning of big commercial projects had started two or three years ago and to stop these developments now would have huge cost implications...

>> Lack of consumer confidence in residential sector could end soon

While there has been a clearly detectable upswing in business confidence in all the areas in which Inframax Developments works across South Africa, consumer confidence in the residential property sector has not yet recovered.

This was said recently by John Weaver, one of the Inframax Developments’ directors who some six years ago took the company into the middle bracket residential sector. (Previously it had focused mainly on large government low cost housing projects handled by The New Housing Company (NewHco), to whom Inframax Developments’ staff provided development management services.)

Reader: Thank you very much for your weekly newsletter which I find very informative and interesting. You mentioned in of of your articles average building cost and I was wondering whether you have information on present building costs or where I could get building costs from.

Regards
Willie Combrinck

Editor: In answer to Willie'e question I found the following information;

On average, contractors charged 5,877 rand per square metre in the second quarter.

Of the contracts awarded in the building cost index sample, the average per square metre cost of retail space was 7,506 rand, for office space it was 6,848 rand, and for industrial space 4,020 rand

For more information: http://www.thetimes.co.za/Property/Article.aspx?id=816751

GREEN POINT STADIUM WILL RAISE PROPERTY VALUES IN THE AREA

All the fears that Green Point residents expressed regarding the way in which the new stadium would lower property values in its area have proved unjustified, says Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

In fact, says Steward, there are now clear indications that the advent of this massive structure is raising property values in close proximity to it.

North of Durban on the western coast of South Africa is the suburb of La Lucia, which is becoming one of the most popular places in the region for both businesses and residents alike. The beach side residences and spectacular homes lead inland to a series of increasingly busy corporate parks and business areas. The older homes have been joined with newer apartments and off-plan developments as La Lucia has continued to grow...

Upmarket, quiet, scenic and convenient are the best ways to describe this peaceful seaside area. Located between Durban North and Umhlanga, La Lucia is not only central, but also boasts its own features and amenities that draw people to visit from the neighbouring areas.

This includes the up market La Lucia Mall, with its extensive range of shops where you can find anything from the most mundane household item to exotic jewellery and esoteric delights. It also boasts its own pubs, cinemas, restaurants and the ever popular Virgin Active Health Club...

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Choosing an Estate Agent

There is undoubtedly a huge amount of information that is readily available on the Internet, so many will ask why they should hire an Estate Agent. They may wonder whether they could buy or sell privately to save on the commission earned by Estate Agents. Some people do okay, but many struggle. So, if you’ve wondered the same thing, here are some reasons why you might want to consider hiring a professional Estate Agent.

- You don’t need to know everything about buying and selling property if you hire an Estate Agent that does;

- Determine the level of service they are offering. Question their knowledge of real estate sales transactions, financing, the property market in your area and the current interest rates;

- Certain agents specialise in certain neighbourhoods and Buyers in that area will obviously migrate to those agents. They possess knowledge of the neighbourhood and are able to identify comparable sales and provide this information to you. That’s the agent you should consider choosing;

- Rather than telling an Estate Agent how much you want for your property, let them tell you how much they believe you can get. They are, after all, the experts. Ask them to give you a suggested asking price and a likely selling price and ask them to explain how they arrived at those figures;

- The Estate Agent receives a commission for their service and the Seller is responsible for paying this commission. The current commission is around 7.5% plus VAT, but most Estate Agents are willing to negotiate the amount. Make sure this commission is only payable on transfer of the property;

- Check what they intend doing to make sure any potential serious Buyer has the financial ability to do so. Once you have somebody making an offer, the person may not be able to get a home loan, but this may only come to light several weeks later. In the meantime, you may have received another offer from someone who could afford the repayments;

- Check whether the Estate Agent is part of a multi-listing service and ensure that your property is multi-listed as soon as possible. The agent should arrange an “open hour”, which is like a show day but is held during the week for other Estate Agents to view the property. These other agents can also give guidance on the pricing and may already have potential buyers.

The majority of Estate Agents are highly reputable professionals who aim to do the best job possible. Whilst the Estate Agent technically works for the Seller, a good agent is one that brings value to the Buyer as well and can quickly conclude a deal that is mutually beneficial.

Article by: Cheryl Marais – Direct Marketing Manager - Betterbond

Cell Phone enquiries from the public

Buyers driving past your advertising boards will be able to see an unique Internet Number allocated to the specific property. They will then SMS that number to 35476 and will receive an SMS back with all the details of the property. At the same time the agent / agency will also be informed of a potential buyer. How's that for technology working for you! The cost - mahala! Free to all CyberAgent subscribers.

Here's a diagram on the way this process will work...

1. Agent captures the details of the property and pictures into CyberAgent
   
2. Agent updates the property to the Internet
   
3. The Internet server sends back a unique number for that property
   
4. Agent puts up his "For Sale" board together with our SMS board
   
5. Potential buyer sees the "SMS" board and SMS's the unique number to the Internet server
   
6. The Internet server sends back an SMS with all the property details and a link to the website where he/she can view pictures on the propert

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

For Sale Property:
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Western Cape

To Rent Property:
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