Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2015 | Page 9

PROPERTY ALERTS

The
Bad

The
Good

Thely
Ug

Johannesburg
gets gold in green
awards

Slow property price
Liquor law’ will
growth and rising
shut down many
demand for 100% bonds taverns

J

S

oburg is the best green city
in the country, Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries Senzeni Zokwana said at
the start of National Arbor Week
in Durban.
The
Arbor
City
Awards
recognise and incentivise cities
to green their areas, especially
disadvantaged areas.
Entrants are adjudicated on
whether a greening policy is
available, how it is funded, project
maintenance, the extension of
greening services to previously
disadvantaged
areas,
public
participation in projects and how
they stimulate local economic
development.
This year, 32 municipalities
entered. Six were shortlisted and
Joburg’s City Parks and Zoo
emerged as the winner.
City of Joburg member of the
mayoral committee for social
development, Chris Vondo, said
the The theme of this year’s Arbor
Week is “Forests and people:
investing in a sustainable future”. It
is being used as a build-up to the
World Forestry Congress, which
takes place in Durban next week.
www.reimag.co.za

tatistics released by ooba,
South Africa’s largest bond
originator, reflect positive
growth in housing prices but at a
significantly slower year-on-year
growth rate.
The Average Purchase Price in
August 2015 increased by 3.4%
from R982,297 in August 2014 to
R1,015,766. This low single-digit
growth is a marked slowdown from
the double-digit growth of 11%
recorded in the second quarter of
2015.
This slowdown in housing
prices is not surprising given
that consumer confidence is at
its lowest level in 15 years. This
reflects concerns about South
Africa’s future, particularly given
worse-than-expected Q2 GDP
figures, poor economic growth
forecasts for the remainder of 2015
and rising interest rates.
52% of all home buyers applying
for home loan finance in August
indicated that they had no access
to a deposit, which represents a 4%
year-on-year increase in demand
for 100% bonds.

L

ocated near a school and a
church, a tavern owner in
Langa could be in trouble
should a proposal to