PROPERTY NEWS - The property market may be a little confusing for you currently, especially when putting property for sale, but this makes sense when looking at the current climate in South Africa.
Stuart Manning, the group CEO for Seeff, has pointed out that we are seeing a hybrid market at present, with some areas performing well while others continue to struggle.
The Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank recently decided to leave the repo rate unchanged, with the current level being 6,50% (base home loan rate of 10%) - a decision that was not unexpected by the market.
According to Seeff Property group, this decision was almost inevitable considering that the economy remains sluggish while there is pressure on the CPI due to the rising costs and some renewed volatility in the currency. The group also expects that the interest rate will stay flat for the rest of 2018.
Sentiment in the country has certainly picked up following Cyril Ramaphosa's appointment as President, but the January surge took a knock following the policy uncertainty around land expropriation.
On the plus side, President Ramaphosa did publicly state that the issue would be done with economic growth and food security in mind, which managed to ease some of the tension around the matter.
On a whole the Seeff group remained upbeat with the more positive outlook and retain the belief that if some hurdles can be managed, we could see the economy take a real turn.
In the property market, Manning pointed out that the Gauteng markets had been picking up, and noted a surge in transactions above the R20 million mark - which he says is a strong indication of confidence returning to the market.
The lower to mid-market, with properties in the range of R1.5 million to R2.5 million, are active, but he warned that buyers need to be aware of the right price range, while buyers in the market should not hold out for too long, as they could end up regretting a missed opportunity.
