PROPERTY MARKET
Although plush areas in Sandton, such as Bryanston
and Sandhurst, are still said to be ruling the realty roots
on the whole of the continent, there’s nothing like the
painful reminder that if wealth and privilege are to be
had, you’re on the wrong side of the mountain if you’re
living in Khayelitsha.
Renting an average-sized home in Campers, with
three bedrooms and a bathroom and no view, will set
you back around R40 000 a month. Do the maths. In
Khayelitsha’s better, more established areas, places
such as, say, J Section, you could rent the same-sized
home – okay, a little smaller – for R2 500 a month.
Retail prices elsewhere in comparison with Camps
Bay dip drastically. Sandton’s best come in at an
average price of R2 044 787, a little shabby compared
to Ballito: R2 418 182. In Waverley in the Free State,
expect to pay around R1 920 526 for your stately
residence, R924 795 in Nelspruit,
R1 278 905 in Walmer, R879 516 in Bendor,
R1 061 061 in Cashan, and R1 193 353 in Rhodesdene.
These areas, especially those from the Free State to
the Northern Cape, reflect how prices appear to have
nosed downward. Comparatively speaking, poorer areas
in these provinces seem to be doing well: R367 786 in
Mangaung, R296 600 in Bethelsdorp.
Marikana is the only exception. If ever there’s doubt
about the negativity of news, consider that you can
pick up a three-bedroomer for R65 651 in Marikana
at the moment. It’s the only area where buying, for the
moment, is decidedly cheaper than renting.
On the Zim corridor, for example, investors are in a
buying frenzy because rentals are that strong. And the
longer the frenzy, the less in the trough, which is why
diminishing supply is driving prices up.
These, for the moment, are the stats.
Camps Bay
Ballito
Sandton
Waverley (Free State)
Walmer
Rhodesdene
Cashan
Nelspruit
Bendor
Manguang
Bethelsdorp
Galeshewe
Khayelitsha
The history of homeloans
Homeloans have been around for longer then we
realise, writes Eugene Goddard
Mortgage is such a grave word, right there in
the first syllable, yet it holds all of the promise of
security and comfort – if you can get one, that is.
Ironically enough, homeloans have been with us
only since the Great Depression when, believe it
or not, insurance companies sniffed opportunity at
the prospect of another economic collapse.Sensing
easy spoils, the initial intention by intrepid insurers
wasn’t making money through fees and interest
rates, but snatching property from defaulting
lenders.
According to How Stuff Works, the Federal
Housing Administration (FHA) adopted the idea
to haul most of America’s population out of the
quagmire following the crushing effect of the
stock market crash of 29 October 1929. Today’s
prospective home owners, battling to get onto the
property ladder, have absolutely nothing on the
deprivations endured in the wake of Black Tuesday.
In 1934, when the FHA formerly embarked on a
home-loan rollout drive to boost the economy,
mortgage loan terms were limited to 50% of
the property’s market value, and the repayment
schedule was spread over three to five years,
ending with a bulk payment. An 80% loan at that
time meant your down-payment was 80%, and not
the amount you financed.
No wonder it took the US longer than anticipated
to emerge from the depression.
The 8