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3 Cape Town coastal suburbs among the most searched-for CHANGES to the law will address many of the concerns of consumers. PICTURE: ALEXANDR PODVALNY/PIXABAY
NEW ACT OFFERS PROTECTION FOR BUYERS AND SELLERS THE NEW Property Practitioners Act came into effect on February 1 and, while the tightening of the legislation largely concerns agents and agencies, consumers also need to understand the implications of these changes. “Sadly, for many years, our industry has not always had the best reputation and members of the public have all too often – and with good reason – complained about the service they have received,” says Steve Thomas, secure estate specialists for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs. “However, they can now rest assured in the knowledge that many of their concerns have been addressed and have been remedied through new stringent and well-conceptualised laws which effectively curtail the root cause of problems.” As of February 1, not only were unregistered agencies unable to operate legally, all agents and the agency itself must be registered with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority and hold valid Fidelity Fund Certificates. Additionally,
all these certificates must be displayed and/or produced on demand as well as on all company-headed branding. He says the new act further enforces compliance by barring conveyancing attorneys from paying commission to unregistered agents and agencies. Furthermore, all unqualified (but registered) practitioners must now present themselves as interns in training and may not conclude legal transactions, which means there is far less chance of costly and stressful incidences occurring. Thomas says consumers are further protected by the following measures: • Property practitioners may only market properties which are mandated (in writing) by the registered owner. • All mandates must have a commencement and an end date. • Any extensions to mandates must be in writing to be deemed valid. • No mandate may be considered valid unless there is a written property condition report signed by the owner prior to marketing.
THREE suburbs in Cape Town are among the top five most popular in the country. PICTURE: WOLFGANG RIEBE/PIXABAY
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AUTENG and the Western Cape are home to the most popular suburbs in the country, based on the number of searches by aspiring property buyers. The latest Re/Max National Housing Report reveals that for the fourth quarter of 2021, Parklands in the Western Cape was the most searched-for suburb on remax.co.za. This was followed by Pretoria’s Faerie Glen and Fourways in Joburg. Bloubergstrand and Table View in the Western Cape were placed fourth and fifth. “The three suburbs in the Western Cape that featured in our ‘top five’ searched suburbs on remax. co.za are popular areas as they tend to offer more affordable housing options compared to other beachfront suburbs,” says Adrian Goslett, chief executive of Re/Max of Southern Africa.
Fourways and Faerie Glen remain popular options for Gauteng buyers and these suburbs regularly feature in the top five suburbs in the Re/Max National Housing Reports. “These suburbs are well-established, desirable markets within Johannesburg and Pretoria, respectively. Both are near to the city centres and cater to a wide range of buyers.” While KwaZulu-Natal did not feature in the fourth quarter’s top five last year, in previous Re/Max Housing Reports, Musgrave has featured on more than one occasion and Essenwood has also made an appearance. “KwaZulu-Natal is rising in popularity among buyers, especially as more and more developments occur within the province. I would not be surprised if, in time, this province features more regularly among the top searched suburbs within South Africa,” Goslett predicts.
House price inflation still low, report shows
A REPORT reveals that house-price inflation is still growing at less than 5% nationally. PICTURE: LASZLO ZAKARIAS/PIXABAY
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ATIONAL year-on-year house-price inflation is at 4.35%, marking a fourth consecutive month of growth under 5%, states Lightstone’s latest Residential Property Index. Inflation, as at the end of December, remained steady in the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, and increased in the North West, Northern Cape and Western Cape. Price growth decreased in the Free State and KwaZuluNatal. The report also reveals that house prices in the “low-value” segment (less
than R250 000) continue to outgrow those in the highervalue segments, with the inflation rate for this segment currently at 9%, almost double that of the “midvalue” segment (R250 000 to R700 000) at 4.9%.
LIGHTSTONE RECORDED PROVINCIAL INFLATION AT: Northern Cape Eastern Cape North West Western Cape Free State KwaZulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga Gauteng
7.5% 7.3% 7.3% 7% 6.5% 5.2% 5.2% 5% 4.7%
BUYING a home off-plan offers a number benefits. PICTURE: JEAN-PAUL JANDRAIN/PIXABAY
THE JOYS OF BUYING YOUR HOME OFF PLAN IF YOU are interested in buying a property in a specific new development, but the developers have not completed or even begun the construction of the houses yet, one option is to buy off-plan. Rhys Dyer, chief executive of the ooba Group, says this option does require a level of trust but can often work out to be much cheaper as deposits are lower than if you were buying an existing unit. Bond repayments are also delayed until construction is complete, giving you up to
24 months to put money aside and budget accordingly. Another benefit of buying in a new development is that there is no transfer duty. “This is because the payment of transfer duty only applies when a property changes ownership and this is not the case when purchasing a newly built home... “Therefore, buyers stand to save significantly when purchasing a home in a new development, where transfer duty does not apply, especially if it is a multimillion-rand property.” However, Dyer does caution
that buying a newly built home in a development is still subject to VAT. Aside from the financial rewards, he says there are numerous benefits to buying in to a new-built development: • The home is a blank slate that you can furnish and fit to your personal taste and requirements. • Less maintenance and upkeep are normally required on new houses than older ones. • Newly built homes are constructed with energy efficiency in mind. • There are security measures, such as access control, biometric access, perimeter fences and CCTV cameras. • It’s an opportunity for community living.
