The First National Bank (FNB) asserted that even though the average house price growth was at 3.2% last year, they believe that the growth could achieve a rate of 6% by the end of this year.

On the other hand, ABSA’s latest house index did not show any signs of slow property recovery. Last week the bank reported that the average home values were deflating.  ABSA further noted that the price of small houses decline by an average of 19.1% year on year, whilst the large houses’ decline is round about 0.4% and the medium houses’ decline is about 0.6%.

Last month ABSA was overtaken by Standard Bank to become the mortgage bond market leader. This saw Standard Bank reaching an overall market share of 32%.

The dissimilar house price statistics have caused confusion. One might say that these dissimilar results were caused by the different sources of data or even the different segmentation and methodology.

The fact that ABSA has lost interest in mortgage advances could also be adding fuel to the dissimilar house index statistics.

Senior Property Analyst at ABSA Home Loans, Jacques du Toit, said that real price and nominal deflation is a possibility, should the recent trends in house prices continue.

FNB’s Household and Property Sector Strategist, John Loos, said that low interest rates will perpetuate a further increase in borrower and lender confidence as FNB’s perceptions of risks keeps on improving.

ABSA, Standard Bank and FNB obviously have different statistics and outcomes when it comes to house indexes, but Mortgage Originator Ooba’s statistics revealed that there was an increase in the residential property prices, giving them the results of a 1.6% increase last month.

image courtesy of: johnlbradfield.com

Parks Tau, Executive Mayor of Johannesburg

The City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Parks Tau, said that The City of Johannesburg is going to be spending an estimated R100bn on economic social infrastructure for the next ten years.

Beside other things, Johannesburg is going to put all focus on the storm-water systems, the road infrastructure network, the upgrading of water reticulation systems, the waste treatment plants and electricity substations.

Tau (at his first State of the City address) said that the city accounted for 16% of South Africa’s gross domestic product and trade, transport, manufacturing, tourism, and construction. He also asserted that there are quite a number of law firms, large corporations, and financial institutions whose headquarters are in the Johannesburg centre.

The forever increasing population growth saga cannot be shelved. This saga calls for urgent socioeconomic infrastructure development. The population of about 3.8million in Johannesburg is expected to be 4.1million come 2015 and 8million by 2040.

R100bn is a lot of money and 2022 may seem far, but it is not. To affirm that the money is well spent and all the targets are met, the City of Johannesburg has to put up stringent plans and strategies and also retrofit all its buildings with energy saving measures.

Tau also noted that Johannesburg is developing quite an integrated and comprehensive approach when it comes to service delivery. He concluded by saying that there will be challenges as the projects progresses, but parties involved should find ethical ways of dealing with issues and problem solving – so that there will be no time wasted and loss of funds.

Image courtesy of http://www.joburg.org.za

Department of Public Works

The Democratic Alliance (DA) recently found out that the Department of Public Works owes the eMalahleni local municipality a whooping R3.5m. This has led to the municipality threatening to cut the electricity supply to government departments and schools.

Already two government staff members were locked out of a Johannesburg building. On the other hand, SAPS employees thought they were going to have another day at work when to their surprise; they found out that the old JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) building had been padlocked.

Richard Curried, MD of Currie Group (property management company) said that the Department of Public Works owed Hostprops R1.74m. Apparently the amount had been due since September last year. The other R1.8m is owed by the Public Works on behalf of the South African Police Service. The amount had been due since November last year.

Lebo Lebea, who represented the department’s regional office, had a meeting with Currie and his lawyers. Lebea concluded the meeting by saying that he will do everything in his power to affirm that the rent was paid by last Thursday – Thursday came and left, nothing happened.

Lebea said that the Public of Works has been facing predicaments when it comes to accommodation and everything has been forwarded to the regional office in Pretoria.

The Department of Public Works is in charge of leasing government office accommodation.

Sicelo Gcabashe, Chairman of Ponte City’s oversight committee on public accounts, said that he was disappointed that a loss of more than R1.2b in electricity distribution was found, after a R16.5m budget was put a side to help reduce this predicament.

So now if the budget failed to curb this loss, the big question is where did the money go? “This is money that went down the drain,” said Gcabashe. Well there you have it…

This loss is not new in Ponte City. According to the city’s financial report, a whooping R835m was lost in the previous year. So basically the loss is deteriorating year after year. This means that City Power has to sit down with the committee and give a breakdown as to how did the electricity loss come about. Such information (if correct) will substantially help the committee to recommend necessary interventions to try and evade contributing factors.

Gcabashe has told City Power that they have until May to submit a report as to how the R16.5m was spent and how did it (drastically) failed to resolve the loss.

On the other hand, the Auditor-General released a damning report which revealed that the municipal-owned entities’ losses contributed to the Ponte City’s declining finances. The report revealed that there was an irregular expenditure of R397.7m and unauthorised expenditure of R48.5m at City Power.

Furthermore, Gcabashe asserted that the Jo’burg Metro Police Department also had a hand in this because more than R6.1m was due to fraudulent engrossments.

In conclusion, corrective measures to improve performance have to be in place and severe report-back mechanisms have to be implemented. This should be the way forward.

One of the prominent landmarks in Braamfontein Johannesburg, Jorissen Place, is going for sale. This was an announcement that was made by global property services firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

This massive building boasts of 563 basement parking bays, 630m2 of retail area and 28 000m2 of office space. Jorissen Place is so huge in a way that it occupies the entire city block that comprises of Bertha, De Korte, De Beer, and Jorissen streets.

LaSalle said that expense is one of the reasons why most investors, occupiers and owners seek to buy such a building. This landmark is situated in a very profitable area and is famous for its functionality and good quality.

The fact that existing buildings sometimes outplay new developments is one of the aspects that the investors will have to add on their notes. New buildings are good for developments and job opportunities, but with its history and location, an old building like Jorissen Place can easily trump any new development, no matter the market.

Still on location, Jorissen Place is situated next to the sensational Nelson Mandela Bridge which gives the landmark easy access and high volumes of exposure. Moreover, public transport such as the ReaVaya buses, taxis and Gautrain’s Park are just a walking distance from the Jorissen Place building.

This 18-storey granite structure was designed by Louis Karol (South African) and completed in 1992. The building’s classical, yet modern design gives it a sensational look and attracts investors, where superior office accommodation resides.

Image courtesy of http://www.rennieproperty.co.za

But why wouldn’t it be with all the taxis, buses, cars and pedestrians trying to navigate and manoeuvre their way to the same destination? Bear in mind that Jo’burg is the financial hub of the African continent. This is where dreams are met and some shattered.

The fact that Jo’burg is the 5^th most congested in the world came after a survey that was done over 8 000 people in 20 major cities globally. The survey conductors asked a range of questions like: time spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic, total journey time, and many other relevant questions.

The report shocked many people when it revealed that Jo’burg traffic congestion is worse than that of renowned cities such as New York and New Delhi. This should be an eye-opening report to the concerned because if a city like New Delhi (that is flooded with cars and people) is better than Jo’burg, well then this clearly means that there is a lot that is yet to be done by the department of transport.

With the e-toll system coming into action (if it does), a lot of people will be using different routes and some will be opting for public transport. Even worse, some will have to relocate and live closer to work.

However, property prices are now rising, especially near the Gautrain station. This is because developers seek to take advantage of the residents’ relocation mentalities.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup came with major constructions that brought hope of lessening Jo’burg traffic, but instead, it got worse. Drivers want convenience and they also want to keep their cars new, so they all choose to use the new roads, just to find themselves bumper-to-bumping.

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/bike/

Johannesburg and Cape Town has new residential property developments that are in demand. These property developments suit both the primary residence buyer and those who want to let.

However, these developments will only be available to a privileged few. For example, Melrose Arch, Forty on Oak in Johannesburg has 886 square metre penthouses and 59 apartments which are said to be between 95 square metres for one bedroom apartments. For those who are interested, these new developments will go between R3.7m and R28m.

Moreover, these developments have state of the art technology, comfort and exclusive style. Developer Amdec said that those who will end up with the keys will stand a chance of enjoying the best in enviable lifestyles, just minutes away from the very best in wining, dining, shopping and many more facilities.

Forty on Oak is renowned for offering the very best and these new developments are will certainly not disappoint in satisfying the heart desires when it comes to luxury lifestyle investment. On the other side of the coin, these developments have attracted significant interest from local corporations and foreign investors.

In Cape Town, the first new residential development that has been built for the past 18 months is now in its conclusion. This development is built at Century City and the transfers schedule is expected to take place this month.

Little Moorings is drastically developing with fibre optic open access network. This will be good for the area because the ISP (Internet Service Providers) will be offering broadband multimedia services to those living and working in the precinct.

Image courtesy of http://www.rabie.co.za/little-moorings/

The need for green country estate homes keeps on rising as these houses are able to reduce the overall carbon footprint by at least 60%. Take for instance the Waterfall Country Estate near Sunninghill in Gauteng; it is the first mixed-used development that abides by basic environmental guidelines in South Africa.

The ambitious 60% target can only be attained by scrutinising every aspect of the development. Some engineering companies do come up with different strategies to make greener country estate homes, but they do fail sometimes.

Moreover, some of the aspects that have to be considered when building country estate homes include the creation of extensive green belts, the architectural design, recycling rain and storm water, landscaping using indigenous plant, and piping liquid petroleum gas to all estate homes.

With 30% of home buyers looking for greener estate homes, it makes a lot of sense that “greening” should be the first priority when building these houses, bearing in mind that the percentage might increase as time progresses.

Another positive aspect of these developments in Gauteng is that a lot of money will be saved in the short and long run because moving to a green estate home will definitely reduce carbon footprints.

It looks as if Eskom will be increasing their tariffs as the time progresses. LP gas prices will also increase, but at a much slower rate as compared to that of Eskom.

There are numerous advantages of the LP gas network. For example, it is an environmentally-friendly green fuel that will be offering a significant cost saving to the overall energy bills for homeowners.

Image courtesy of http://www.tshikululu.org.za

The property market is very interesting, as an outsider looking in you get to learn a lot. In 2012 with the way the South African economy is renting property is a lot better than buying.
As attractive as buying property to rent out may seem, many people can’t afford to take out on a mortgage on a second home at the moment. Those fortunate enough to have property to rent should do so, selling that property right now would not be as lucrative. Renting is the way to go!
The advantages to renting Johannesburg property instead of buying is:

• More house for your money

With renting, you can live in a R3 million house for just R15 000 a month. You get to save on mortgages and live as comfortable as you want for half the price.

• Savings

Renting saves you money on taxes and maintenance. The amount you save by renting will give you long-term options in the future.
If you finding it difficult to afford your house consider selling it and moving to something bigger at half the price you’ve been paying on your mortgage.
It has already become very difficult for budding homebuyers to entire the market as National Credit act has made it very difficult for people to get awarded mortgages.
Renting is the wiser choice, find something that works for you and enjoy the money you will be saving.

If you are looking to rent property for the first time, well you are in luck! There is a lot you need to know about renting property.

• Lease duration

Look at how long your lease agreement last, depending on your needs sign a lease agreement that is suitable for your accommodation needs.

• Deposits

Remember that a deposit is going to be required from you. In the first month you will be required to pay your rent and your deposit which is the same amount as your monthly rent.

• Extra charges

They will also be extra expenses such as key fees and parking expenses that you will have to pay for. Water and electricity are something that you will also have to pay for apart from your rent money.

• Roommates

You might have to live with roommates. Always keep your landlord informed when one roommate moves out and you get a new one.

• Landlords and their duties

Landlords are responsible for maintaining your apartment. They need to make sure that you have hot water, no broken windows and that security is available in your living area. Know your rights and make sure you comply with the rules and regulations of the apartment.
That’s all you need to know as a first time renter it will definitely cost you a lot more than you think, so be prepared!