Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October/ November 2019 | Page 7

EDITORIAL VIEW JOHANN RUPERT Where to invest in a tumultuous world of uncertainty, fake news and sunshine journalism Local property company CEOs claim they are experiencing one of the toughest economic times ever, even more challenging than the 2008 global financial crisis. The current market challenges to produce consistent investor returns is changing. This is despite PR companies churning out very well crafted press releases – which seldom give a different view. It was Warren Buffett who said the smarter the journalists are the better off society is. The better the teacher, the better the student body. Is our financial reporting written by smart journalists giving viewpoints on both sides or are journalists serving us their versions of yellow or ‘sunshine journalism’? ‘Yellow journalism’ is a term used when associated newspapers or journalists present little or no legitimate well-researched news. Instead, focus is on exaggerating facts, spreading rumours or cynical reporting serving advertiser needs. My feeling is that SA mainstream financial journalism is generally doing a credible job (where we humbly include ourselves). While advertisers needs to be served, investors need to do a lot of research and be educated before they invest. To start investing in real estate purely based on the contents of a website, newspaper or magazine article, advertisement or a journalists analysis without doing your homework properly is foolhardy. The first step is doing your research thoroughly. This includes deciding on your niche, determining your strategy, working the plan and carrying out your own due diligence based EMAIL [email protected] INTERVIEWS tv REItv on investment fundamentals, which we broadly cover In REImag every month. Crowdfunding or collective investing is a new growing investment sector. You pool funds with other like-minded investors without the hassles of being a landlord. The fact that many of these companies are also offshore gives investors added Rand hedging returns in another country. With collective investment you can invest at varying levels with a passive income return without the costs of paying deposits, attorneys fees and stamp duties. Buying and owning your own rental properties directly still gives the best returns for investors. Today investing in small industrial logistics, storage and/or residential multilet properties, student accommodation and affordable housing are in big demand right now. Matchmaking investors with real estate investments who have appetite and experience has become big business and will grow faster in the future. There is a minefield of real estate investments out there that we report on in residential, commercial and offshore sectors. We don’t issue you advice but give you the advisory means for you to make the best decision to invest for yourself. No amount of PR manipulation or journalistic pandering can turnaround the scenario of bad to good for investments. Only an educated investor’s thorough due diligence process and selection of the right partners can avoid bad decisions. Successful investing NEALE PETERSEN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JOHNNY ISAKSON “ Commercial real estate always trails residential, and as residential growth flourishes, shopping centres flourish and service the communities and jobs come out. FaceBook LIVE “ O ver the last two months I have attended a number of local JSE listed property company’s annual results announcements. Real Estate Investment Trusts (RE- ITs) whose track record of producing consistent above mar- ket average returns have become tougher. Given that local market conditions have deteriorated to a large extent the case for sound REIT returns has become more difficult. REITs invest, finance and develop properties and are ideal for in- vestors who don’t want to deal with the hassles of buying, managing tenants, dealing with maintenance and rent col- lection. There are still a handful of niche REITs outperform- ing the averages such as Fairvest, Equitos and Growthpoint, in the commercial sectors of office and retail. REAL ESTATE RADIO PodCasts SA Real Estate Investor Magazine OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 5