Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December 14/ January 15 | Page 7

investor talk

upfront

FROM THE EDITOR

New Year, New Beginnings

I

t is the end of another
year and the start of a
brand new one, and with
this comes the opportunity
to reflect, plan ahead and
set new goals for the coming
year.
This provides a perfect
opportunity to reflect and
learn from mistakes made in
the past year and how we aim
to fix them.
It is also a good time
to set financial, social and
investment goals and resolve to set these goals in motion
to achieve success in the New Year.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

T

here are winners and
losers in any market,
but 2014 was filled
with new challenges. Smart
investors beat the market
averages,
while
others
struggled. As part of the
global village, SA’s markets
are directly impacted by
world markets.
There are some positive
market
trends.
Many
estate agents had their first
bumper period since 2008.
High demand for rentals is
an encouraging trend for
landlords. The growth of the black middle class to around
4.2 million is a stabilising factor. New developments seem
to be on the rise, despite tough markets. Steyn City is an
example of the increase in ‘live, work, play’ environments.
Andrew Golding, CEO of Pam Golding Properties,
highlighted some key global trends at their recent year
end function. He says, “After the collective pre-crisis
boom, European housing markets took two paths.
Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal and
Spain dropped sharply; some still continue to fall. Others
including Belgium, Britain, Norway and Sweden only
dipped before rebounding”.
Americans used to be far more indebted than
Europeans. But Americans’ debt is now below 105% of

REIM bids a fond farewell to our current editor,
Monique Terrazas, who will be embarking on the next
stage of her career, as we wish her all the best for her future
endeavors. However, this is not goodbye, as Monique will
still continue to write for us.
I have recently joined the REIM team as a temporary
Editor, and have enjoyed editing this magazine as much
as I hope you will enjoy reading it.
Here’s wishing everyone a safe and festive holiday
season!
Prosperous investing!

Megan Diener

copy Editor

income after tax, whereas that of Euro-zone households
is almost 110%. The all-important U.S. residential sales
market is on the move again. January 2014 marked the
23rd consecutive month of increase for the Case-Shiller
house price index, and recent reports show house price
growth remains in positive territory, although slowing
down.
Golding adds: “Even as analysts worry about the
strength of the global economic recovery, there are
concerns that the record low interest rate environment
is fuelling new housing bubbles”. The Swedish word ‘bo’
means to live; ‘sambo’ to cohabit. As more people struggle
to get on the housing ladder, a new word has been coined:
‘mambo’ - to live with your mum. It’s a reflection of the
difficulties facing first-time homebuyers in Sweden, like
most other places around the world.
Golding’s outlook for 2015 is that the prevailing
market conditions will continue for the first six months,
with high levels of buyer activity, significant shortages
of appropriately priced stock and gradually-increasing
house growth, against the backdrop of weak economic
performance and a moderately increasing interest rate
cycle.
We hope that despite the challenges and the unexpected
shocks investors face from time to time, you continue
maximising the opportunities that exist in any market.
Prosperous investing

NEALE PETERSEN

FOUNDER

“ Year’s end is neither an end, nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom
that experience that can instill in us.”
HAL BORLAND
www.reimag.co.za

December 14 / January 15 SA Real Estate Investor

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