Real Estate Investor Magazine January/February 2024 Edition | Page 98

RESIDENTIAL

We ’ ve seen many changes in the local and global economy in the last few years that hugely impacted the property sector . From the rising interest rates to the unemployment rates , 2023 was an interesting year for property investors .

Despite the challenges , there are huge property investment opportunities out there . And I don ’ t know about you , but I ’ m going into 2024 with a renewed focus to take advantage of every single opportunity that comes my way ! If you want to do the same , considering the following trends and factors will help you to build wealth and experience financial freedom through property investment .
1 . The global economic outlook : Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) projections According to the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ), global growth is projected to slow from an estimated 3.4 % in 2022 to 2.8 % in 2023 before settling at 3.0 % in 2024 .
The real GDP growth in South Africa ( SA ) was 1.9 % in 2022 , and Statistics SA projected it to be 0.9 % in 2023 . But Statistics SA has provided some cheerful news to SA by raising our GDP growth projection for 2024 to 1.8 % - a hopeful outlook for investors !
2 . Inflation dynamics : A balancing act According to Trading Economics , the annual inflation rate in the US was 3.1 % in November 2023 , which is significantly better than a year and a half ago when it was ± 8 %. The target rate , however , is 2 %, which means that the US is still intentional to get inflation down . This could mean further hikes or keeping rates the same – we ’ ll have to wait and see .
In SA , the annual consumer price inflation was 5.5 % in November 2023 compared to 5.9 % in