immoafrica blog

The prospect of increased interest rates is now a real concern to the South African housing sector, says Bill Rawson. The decreasing value of the rand and the downgrading of South Africa’s financial status by reputable international monitoring agencies should be a cause of great concern to those managing our economy – and to South [...](more...)

What breed is the bluebird of happiness Those tasked with creating happiness under South Africa’s present economic conditions are searching the skies for the elusive bird. Their duty to build a country based on equitable living standards and a robust business environment is undermined by the socio-political maelstrom. Two birds are under consideration: The Hawk: [...](more...)

Definition: SAVING – income not spent, deferred consumption, expenditure reduction. Every economy measures its health on the balance between income and expenditure. While consumption creates jobs, pays salaries and grows industry, consumption when not funded by income, requires credit. Most people cannot afford to purchase a home without credit, without a mortgage loan. So the ongoing [...](more...)

If any of you have been reading up on recent South African economic developments, you know that there was a growing (albeit small) chance of a possible interest rate cut later this year. With inflation topping slightly above 6% and analysts expecting it to drop back into the 3-6% range by the end of 2012, [...](more...)

In order to answer the question as to whether recent house price growth rates are sustainable, one should probably ask the question as to how sustainable this recent strong growth in disposable income is? We think it is not sustainable at recent levels. After a sharp recovery off a low base in income from investments, [...](more...)

Buy-to-let buying remains weak, with the FNB Estate Agent Survey pointing to only very slight improvement, and agents don’t appear to expect much to change in the near term. In an environment where the household sector is under significant financial pressure, basics are key, and primary residential demand is king. This is visible in ongoing [...](more...)