Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa February 2016 | Page 29

DR ANDREW GOLDING

BILL RAWSON

SAMUEL SEEFF

With municipal tariffs such as rates,
electricity and water receiving increasing
attention, we anticipate as the new year
unfolds the trend towards the containment of
such costs and conservation of our precious
natural resources will further stimulate the
growing demand for convenient sectional
title living and use of energy saving features.
Although generally smaller in size, although
not necessarily cheaper, sectional title offers
low overheads and improved security. This
is coupled with the growing trend towards
urban living in proximity to the workplace.

Amid extreme stock market volatility,
political upheavals and plummeting oil and
commodity prices, private investors big and
small are finding a safe haven in property
– and that bodes well for the real estate
market in 2016.

All things considered including the
economic slow-down and contraction of
overall sales volumes and slower price
growth, 2015 has been a good year.

“In a world beset by turbulent economic,
environmental and security issues, South
Africa’s residential property market is
consistently seen as a safe haven for
investment, with local residents increasingly
recognising the medium to long term
benefits of home ownership.
“Our outlook for the remainder of 2015
and into 2016 is that the current supply
and demand environment will continue to
prevail, notwithstanding the weakness in the
economy

At the moment, investors in SA and all
around the world are avidly seeking out
‘copper-bottom’ assets that are more likely
to hold their value in the face of major social
changes or economic shocks, and for many,
property is a known quantity, a familiar
and reliable place to put your money when
everything else is in flux.
After all, although real estate prices may
grow more slowly in some years than in
others, they have only declined and/or
failed to keep up with inflation twice in
the past 30 years. And in SA, we have the
added advantage, currently, of the low
rand exchange rate that makes residential
property here a very attractive proposition
for foreign investors and developers.

2016 is set to continue in a fairly healthy
vein, the market is set to remain fairly well
balanced with demand and tight stock levels.
That said, the economic challenges will
continue to mount including potentially
higher interest rates, taxes and other costs
associated with property ownership, selling
and buying.
2016 will the last of the 2014-2016 threeyear cycle of positive growth in the market.
The slow-down will gather momentum from
mid-2016 onwards.

RESOURCES
Seeff, Pam Golding, Rawson Properties

www.reimag.co.za

FEBRUARY 2016 SA Real Estate Investor

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