immoafrica blog

Low emigration levels boosting the SA house market – but are not yet complemented by increased foreign buying in SA. One of the most heartening aspects of the South African property market in recent months, says Mike van Alphen, National Manager of Rawson Finance, has been the decline in the number of people selling to [...](more...)

Taking The Market In Hand by John Roberts, Just Letting Property Group CEO SOUTH Africa has not experienced interest rates at the current levels in nearly four decades. These are not just glib words that call for a celebratory glass of champagne because debt repayments have dropped nor reason to moan the low returns on [...](more...)

Prestigious mountainside properties in Cape Town again attracting interest The December/January holiday season saw most Muizenberg estate agents fielding three or four times as many enquiries as usual and in many cases doubled their monthly sales turnover, says Errol King, franchisee for Rawson Properties Muizenberg. He, in fact, had up to fifteen email enquiries per [...](more...)

Auctioneering of property now the preferred method for many residential sellers. A major change in the residential property sector is taking place without many people being aware of it, says Andre Piguet and Ursula Otto, franchisees of the Rawson Properties Mossel Bay franchise – and their newly acquired Rawson Auctions Garden Route franchise. The change [...](more...)

Mortgage Bonds: Today’s Conditions Mike van Alphen, the National Manager for the Rawson Property Group’s bond origination division, Rawson Finance, has drawn attention to a statement by the Rawson Property Group’s Chairman, Bill Rawson, in his first ever blog post, which will be published shortly. “Bill Rawson had pointed out, at what I believe is exactly [...](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...)

When it comes to natural beauty, there is no place in the world that can compare with the Western Cape. It has an assortment of various cultural backgrounds, giving the province multi-ethnic flavours. The Centuries of trade and immigration have created a population with genetic and linguistic links to different parts of Europe, South-East Asia, [...](more...)

Is Household Sector borrowing becoming too aggressive too soon? Indebtedness needs to drop further, and savings needs to increase. It was made known by the SARB (Reserve Bank), last month, that South Africa’s level of household indebtedness, as measured by the household debt-to-disposable income ratio, was 74.7% in the 1st quarter of 2012. Disappointing is [...](more...)

Thursday’s Reserve South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee Meeting resulted in an unexpected cut in interest rates by 50 basis points. The new repo rate is now 5%, while the prime rate now stands at 8.5%. This is the first cut in almost two years, pointing that South Africa might not be as unaffected(more...)

Bloemfontein Properties…. Bloemfontein, the Capital City of the Free State Province, is centrally situated in South Africa. The “City of Roses”, as it had become known locally, is placed with more pivotal importance than any other city in the country as it is the judicial capital. Bloemfontein is the sixth largest city in South Africa, and [...](more...)

Mpumalanga and Limpopo are provinces synonymous with lush South African bushveld. South Africa’s Northern Province Limpopo is the land of myths, legends, beautiful scenery and landscape, as well as majestic Baobab trees. Limpopo is typical of Africa hence it has become a favourite destination for leisure and adventure travellers worldwide. Mpumalanga is divided in two [...](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...)

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...)

Although it is the smallest province, Gauteng is home to more than a quarter of all South Africans. The province is the economic hub of the country and therefore is seen as the heart that’s keeping the country going. Being the financial hub of SA, Gauteng sees enormous growth year on year, and following this [...](more...)

Everyone has once dreamt of living the fairytale and having their own castle with a prince or princess at their side. From a young age we hear and see stories of a beautiful prince and princess or king and queen living in enchanted castles travelling on horseback and having servants catering to their every need. [...](more...)

Source: MediaClubSouthAfrica South Africa is fast becoming a preferred renewable energy investment destination for both private and public sector investors – good news for the country’s growing electricity demands, emerging clean energy sector and the economy. The World Bank recently approved a $250-million (R1.5- billion) loan to South African power utility Eskom to develop a [...](more...)

In the last few years the second home property market has declined dramatically, due to the recession. But markets are steadily recovering and this would definitely impact the growth of second homes.This brings forward the opportunity to guide you into buying your second home. Buying a new home is an exciting time whether you are [...](more...)

Founded in May 2011 Jared Odell is a qualified industrial designer who has worked for one of the most recognizable international design firms in South Africa. After a few years in the corporate world of design, Jared Odell has taken the leap to go out on his own, and “Jared Odell Furniture & Design” is [...](more...)

By John Loos PROPERTY BAROMETER –THE FOREIGN IMPACT ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN RESIDENTIAL MARKET Is the effect of Africa’s improving economic situation starting to become visible in the South African residential property market? Early in 2012, the 1st Quarter FNB Estate Agent Survey suggests that the “net foreign effect” on the South African property market [...](more...)

A View From The Top Ultimate SA Road Trips-Part 1 “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac Undoubtedly one of the most scenic roads in Southern Africa, the Panorama Route reaches some 2000m above sea level.(more...)