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Today’s posts from our featured Port Elizabeth Blogger:

by The Port Elizabeth Property Blog:

The recent announcement by the Monetary Policy Committee of the South African Reserve Bank in which it decided to increase the REPO rate by .5% will not be good for affordability for many buyers who will be buying on bond because it affects the affordability criteria.
This may result in pressure being exerted on affordability which in turn will mean that the chances of a much anticipated increase in property prices will not likely realise in the foreseeable future, with maybe further increases in the future, as the SARB has been forced to take  more proactive steps to counter inflation. 
It is foreseeable that more inflation targeting measures will be taken to reign in sending and reign in inflation within acceptable levels.
What does not bode well for SA is of course the rampant salary demands of the unions which seem to show scant regard for reality. I was listening top the radio a few moments ago and could not help but be awe struck as I heard that SAMU is in addition to their salary increase demands are now also asking for a 14th cheque. I am all for rewarding where rewards are due, but I think they would be hard pressed to convince the rate payers of the superior performance. 
Strike action is various sectors will adversely affect the country and if wage increase unabated, inflation will become a  major problem, let us just hope that clear heads prevail.
It appears that various financial organisations have warned that affordability must include a safety cushion in the case of increases in associated costs like municipal rates and serve fees.
Despite the above lay observations and personal opinions, property often needs to be bought and sold, which makes choosing the correct agent more important than ever. We have noted that this new market is more time consuming and it is becoming ever more evident that client are wanting that personal service and constant monitoring and strategic management of the sales price.

Read more here: The Port Elizabeth Property Blog

Property trends in Port Elizabeth properties by The Port Elizabeth Property Blog: When I started in property in 2002, the business was a lot different:

  • It was relatively easy to become an estate agent;
  • The recent scandal had not hit the industry; 
  • Property was rampant in its upward charge; and
  • Being an estate agent in Port Elizabeth – was more like order taking.

But times change, as they do and the property bubble bust, with it the ability of high pricing.

It is may be of interest, if one looks at the average sale price of properties within a PE property one may make a few observations:

Graph courtesy of a Property 24 data search powered by Windeed

The graph indicates the average selling price of properties within the immediate area. It may be noted that by and large, most houses in the area have had very similar asking prices. Naturally, there are deviations but can be accounted for by individual unit differences, but what is interesting in both conventional (blue) and convectional (green); that there is a discernible trend.

  • The average sale price has never reached the 2008 average price;
  • Average selling price in 2013, compared to 2008 is 88.89% (Conventional) and 70.15% (Sectional) of the respective averages in 2008.
  • Conventional property post 2011, have shown encouraging, yet modest year on year improvements, even though they have yet to break the high-water mark set in 2008.
  • For both categories of property it appears that they both experienced further dips, in 2010.
Against this backdrop, many owners have assumed an annual year on year growth which simply did not manifest.
It is apparent that given the above information, one would be hard-pressed to justify why the selling price should be more than the purchase price in 2008, for example.
It is more important now to get a qualified and experienced agent to get your property on the market, at a price which attracts concrete offers.
What is the “take home”:

  • Prices now have not quite recovered to 2008 levels, in many cases its less;
  • Sales that are happening are happening at lower prices in most cases, alternatively showing modest growth; 
  • For a buyer with cash, look at finding that real value and then look at securing the benefits on beneficial terms. This only can happen on the back of offers actually made. It may be the ,market, but many buyers are being spoilt for choice, which allows buyers to get too distracted from their mission based on price and feature. They also loose their focus of what they wanted in the first instance.
  • Is this a buyer’s or a seller’s market – I don’t think the market is so clear cut. Each property must be judged on its own merits, while realizing that the new market demands value for money and that being too high with you asking price will be punished by the market – resulting in the property selling for less than it could have, had reason prevailed.
The moral of the article, is to get a great agent who can guide you through the minefield.
Clinton Begley is a full status estate agent (PPRE), who has been a principal for over 10 year, and is presently a full status agents and sales team leader at Jawitz Properties Port Elizabeth. Clinton draws on a vast amount of personal real estate sales experience and on his legal experience gained over more than a decade as a Senior Partner at Begleys (Attorneys Notaries and Conveyancers) and as an Associate at the legal practice of Masiza Harker Inc Attorneys Notaries and Conveyancers)

Read more here: The Port Elizabeth Property Blog

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Port Elizabethan

This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.