Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May 2013 | Page 7

INVESTOR TALK

BY ANGELIQUE REDMOND

In The Headlines This Month

T

his month we take a look at a number of important issues that affect property owners, including
property valuations and trusts. We chat to Marcus Fenwick of Mazars Financial Services about
the introduction of REITS and to Andrew Etzinger of IDM, Eskom, about the electricity
price increases. Each month we will be asking property professionals hard questions to give you the
best information. If there is anyone you want to hear from, or a particular topic you want addressed,
we welcome your input.
Should you be investing in residential property right now? The simple answer is yes. A recent survey
published in The Economist showed that South African home prices performed significantly better in
2012 than 85% of the world’s developed countries. Also outlined in the survey was the price-to-rent
ratio index, which revealed that South African property is undervalued by 5%. This means we can
look forward to further rental growth and steady capital growth. With the interest rate remaining
unchanged, it is a good time to consider investing in residential property, to weigh up the pros and cons
of fixing your interest rate and to work on servicing and lowering your debt.
With the introduction of REITS, we can expect the South African listed property sector to become
the eighth