Letter from the editor

AT A RECENT meeting I found it interesting that, when people were talking about what wealth meant to them, every single one equated wealth with owning property.

With rising costs on many fronts, however, for some it had to be a choice between owning a property or building a business or educating their children.

Owning property is not always possible, and yet, to have a roof over your head you can call your own is still desired.

Due to our past, our country has seen many people live to a ripe old age never having owned the title deeds to their homes. And often their children and grandchildren today are working hard to ensure they create generational wealth with bricks and mortar.

On the other hand, interestingly, we have the world’s richest man selling off his property assets. It has been reported that Elon Musk has only one property left in his portfolio, which has gone on and off the market a few times in recent months.

And, of course, we have a growing issue of homelessness involving people who may have had a home once, and who don’t now, and others who have never had a home – whether rented, shared or otherwise.

A recent late bloomer in the house ownership market myself, I had thought I would be a forever renter. That is until interest rates started coming down and monthly payments on a home loan were no higher than the rent. With some banks giving 110% loans, it meant you could also cover your transfer costs.

So, I took the leap. The fact that I owe the bank a lot of money, that I now have to worry about rates and taxes, property values and upkeep of the home, pales in comparison to the feeling of owning property.

However, I wonder if property ownership is always going to be seen as the cornerstone of wealth creation? What do you think?

Warm regards Vivian Warby

vivian.warby@inl.co.za