Business Day Home Front 08 May 2015 by The Creative Group

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FRIDAY, MAY 8 2015

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SA’S FAMOUS LITERARY TOWNS

REINVENTING A FAVOURITE RESTAURANT

BOND ORIGINATION REVISITED

FOREIGNERS’ VIEW OF SA MARKET

“The industry reported that some 30% of all LSF was going into residential buildings”

Steeling the show? The use of alternative building systems such as light steel frames is growing on South African consumers and industry professionals, but does this new method really deliver the goods?

John Barnard, director, SASFA

WORDS: DAVID A STEYNBERG :: PHOTOS: ISTOCK, SASFA

ince about 2005 the concept of using light steel frames (LSF) instead of traditional masonry walls has slowly become more and more accepted in both the residential and commercial building sectors in SA. In 2013 a market survey conducted by the Southern African Light Steel Frame Building Association (SASFA) indicated that a total of 500,000m2 of LSF buildings were completed in that year alone, across all property sectors. “LSF is used for different building types. In a recent survey the industry reported that some 30% of all LSF was going into residential buildings, 40% into commercial and office buildings and 30% into schools and clinics,” says SASFA director John Barnard. “That would indicate that about 150,000m² of housing floor area was built.” This translates into 500 homes of 300m2 each. Barnard says that while

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it is still a relatively small percentage of all building, it is growing rapidly year on year. One proponent of the technology is Chris Smith, CEO of Razorbill Holdings, a company that supplies and installs LSF to various sectors in SA as well as to markets north of our border. His company is involved in alterations to existing buildings right through to upmarket residential and commercial developments. “We have been involved in residential projects that were more than R4m on a single house, and commercial and institutional projects that were more than R18m a project,” he says. “The application range is very wide; however, the technology is well suited to deliver exceptional, quality green buildings in the affordable-market bracket of R350,000 right up to the higher-end market of R1.5m.”

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LIFESTYLE

Friday May 8 2015

LIFESTYLE

Novel destinations Seeking out literary landmarks on travels around our characterful country offers a deeper perspective on the books — and the places — we so cherish WORDS: JOCELYN WARRINGTON :: PHOTO: JUDY DE VEGA ©THE HERALD, PAUL ASH © SUNDAY TIMES, YORCK WURMS AND SUPPLIED

S HERMAN CHARLES BOSMAN

DALENE MATTHEE

BARBERTON .

A is a kaleidoscopically colourful country peopled by many a memorable character. Over the years these individuals have become entrenched in the country’s collective imagination by the storytellers who’ve relayed their tales. In many instances, the little town, village, farm or forest station that formed the setting of these extraordinary tales became characters in their own right, with the nuances of mood, eccentricities, personal crises and deep warmth of each as vivid as its first citizens’. One such town laid bare for the world to see is Cradock. Victorian feminist author Olive Schreiner lived here as a child and it was from the sprawling farms that hugged the small Karoo town that she drew inspiration

for her landmark novel, The Story of an African Farm. At that time, in the mid19th century, Cradock, on banks of the Great Fish River, functioned as a pit stop for the explorers bound for the northern territories. Schreiner was closely acquainted with Cradock, having left only to take up a governess post in nearby Barkly East. But she found her way back and in 1880 wrote her minutely observed, quietly scathing rendering of Karoo farm life and the racial and gender discrimination that took place there. Today Olive Schreiner House on Cross Street is a museum dedicated not only to the author, but also to the characters — the Lyndalls and Waldos — of the time. Barberton is another small town that has been immortalised by a South

African literary great. In the late 1800s James “Percy” FitzPatrick was making a living in this Eastern Transvaal mining town, where he worked as a writer, a prospector and a transport rider. The beloved Staffie that travelled with him on his adventures between the former Lourenco Marques (Maputo) and Barberton became the lead character in Jock of the Bushveld, published in 1907 when the author was editor of the Gold Fields News in Barberton. Like Jock, another character whose life is interwoven with that of his setting is Oom Schalk Lourens, the witty, decidedly offbeat narrator of Herman Charles Bosman’s enormously popular series of stories. To this day the lovable “oom” is able to regale readers with tales of

CRADOCK.

the pleasures and pains of farming life in 1930s Groot Marico long into the night. The North West Province town frequently served as the story setting of choice for Bosman, who is widely regarded as the country’s greatest short-story writer. “There is no other place I know that is so heavy with atmosphere, so strangely and darkly impregnated with that stuff of life that bears the authentic stamp of SA,” he wrote in Marico Revisited. To honour its most famous citizen, Groot Marico hosts the Bosman Weekend every October. What has greatly enabled Bosman’s Oom Schalk stories to be widely loved as well as widely admired is that the profundity of their feeling for human reality has been conveyed with a stylistic lightness that makes their

meaning and their delights generally accessible. An author who employed the same light — in her case, almost naive — touch was Dalene Matthee, best known for her four “forest novels”, most notably Kringe in ’n Bos (Circles in a Forest) and Fiela se Kind (Fiela’s Child), written in the 1980s but set in the Knysna forests of the 1800s. Who can forget the moving bond between free-spirited Saul, a poor woodcutter, and Old Foot, the legendary bull elephant who broke free from his herd? Man and beast, brethren circling together beneath the dark canopy of an ancient forest that is under threat from gold diggers, timber merchants and other demolishers. Forests — supposedly the Amatola in the Hogsback

LIFESTYLE Friday May 8 2015

PROPERTY

Groot Marico — short stories and still life

GROOT MARICO

WORDS: GRAHAM BARLOW :: PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED

For a more affordable getaway home in the bushveld, you would do well to consider Groot Marico AMATOLA

HOGSBACK. area of the Eastern Cape — feature too in the creative imaginings of JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Although the famous South Africanborn fiction author went to England when he was just three years old and never returned, in the minds of local residents Middle-earth is here, and names such as Hobbiton, Rivendell, the Shire and Hobbit Lane mark the spot. There are those who say that Tolkien’s nanny, supposedly a Hogsback native, would bewitch the young boy with anecdotes of the land at the foot of the mountain shaped like an arching boar. According to others, Tolkien’s son was a regular visitor to the hamlet and wired back accounts of the ferny groves, dripping gullies and misty lanes that

he came upon in that magical place. And just as one would hardly be astonished to encounter in Hogsback, crouching behind a mossy knoll, a hobbit of the Shire, so the Lyndalls and Waldos, the Oom Schalks and Jocks, the Sauls and Big Foots of the country’s best-loved stories have imprinted, here, onto the dusty streets of a little Karoo town, there, into the dappled undergrowth of the Garden Route forests, a little piece of themselves.

here is no other place I know that is so heavy with atmosphere, so strangely and darkly impregnated with that stuff of life that bears the authentic stamp of South Africa.” Now, unless you are an avid student of South African literature (or have read the previous story), you might struggle to identify the locality of that particular quotation. After all, there are many places in our varied land that could suggest themselves as “impregnated” with the South African “stuff of life”, depending on the mood, background and wallet size of the visitor. The words were penned by literary genius Herman Charles Bosman, creator of narrator Oom Schalk Lourens. Oom Schalk and his Voorkamerstories are, and will always be, synonymous with Groot Marico, where Bosman taught after graduating, and it is Groot Marico that suffused the young Bosman with its stuff of life. This no doubt included the potent local mampoer, an illicit Marico

version of imoonshine spirits distilled from fruit or honey. (For those among us who thrive on trivia, it was named after Pedi chief Mampuru, who supplied General Piet Joubert’s men with brainnumbing supplies during the Boer War.) Mampoer remains part of South African culture and has taken on a more legal standing in the Marico community of late. It is celebrated yearly with its very own festival in Groot Marico. For the rest of the year, tours of local stills are hosted with a pride that Stellenbosch wine tours can only dream of. But mampoer and giants of literature aside, it is unlikely, if property investors are asked to list their top five South African property destinations, that Groot Marico — or the entire district, for that matter — would ever make the grade. Which is a pity. Groot Marico is located picturesquely on a tributary of the Limpopo, the Marico River, for which the town and district are named, and it lies a few hours’ leisurely drive northwest of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The district of Groot Marico stretches languidly through hamlets with exotic names, with Zeerust, Nietverdiend and Zwingli among them. Crossing the Dwarsberg mountain range, you reach the Botswana-SA border. The Groot Marico district is predominantly a farming community. Cattle roam about large fields, and maize, fruit and tobacco are grown on plots ranging from a few hectares to large farms. There are also game farms offering viewing and, for the more bloodthirsty among us, hunting. Elize Halgreen of Dormehl Properties in Rustenburg knows the area well and has been selling property there for some time. She says: “It’s a beautiful area and is renowned for its festivals and fishing as well as for attracting city people in search of some peace and quiet. The market is principally driven by people buying weekend retreats.” When it comes to sales, Elize is less upbeat: “The economy has taken its toll on what is a small, close-knit community. A lot of retired couples have placed their properties on the market recently, and I think the average size of the properties is too large for holiday homes.” What does this signal for the area as a whole, in

These individuals have become entrenched in the country’s collective imagination

her opinion? “Just a temporary slowdown. There is so much tourist traffic passing through, as well as the annual festivals that bring people in. It’s hard not to fall in love with the town and the area. To me, Groot Marico is the Pilgrim’s Rest of the North West.” But here’s the bottom line for prospective purchasers (and maybe you’ll want to keep this to yourself until you have selected your own ShangriLa on the Marico River): the prices, relative to what one sees in the cities and other high-profile holiday-home areas, make you feel there is a missing digit at the beginning. Consider this offering from Dormehl Properties: a 25ha farm, including a modern four-bedroom house, fully fenced with outbuildings and a borehole, for the princely sum of R880,000. Don’t want land? There is a four-bedroom house for sale in Groot Marico itself on a “small plot” of 2,200m2 for R500,000. There are, of course, some properties in the higher cost bracket, but once again the value for money is outstanding. A 536ha farm overlooking a large dam, with luxurious improvements too numerous to list and a selection of wild animals that would make the Kruger National Park envious, will set you back R13m. Or you could take that money and buy a one-bedroom flat on Clifton beach. The sales pitch for the farm runs to two words: “It’s bushveld.” For those not tied to city life, the Groot Marico district certainly warrants a closer look. Herman Charles Bosman knew a good thing when he saw it, and I’m not talking about the mampoer.

“Groot Marico is the Pilgrim’s Rest of the North West” Elize Halgreen, Dormehl Properties Rustenburg

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MOUILLE POINT WESTERN CAPE R38 MILLION Touching on perfection, this property offers a high level of luxury, as well as style and substance. Suitable for a discerning buyer who will revel in elegant surrounds and enjoy both sea and mountain facing views. Bedrooms 3 | Bathrooms 4½ | Garages 3 Paul Levy 083 300 3001 Lynn Pinn 083 631 4890 Mariël Burger 082 372 2573 WEB ACCESS PR1164394

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INVESTMENT Friday 8 May 2015

Analyse it WORDS: PATRICK CAIRNS

Lessons from Zimbabwe

W LSF v clay brick CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

WHAT IS LSF?

Light-steel framing is a method of building. Use is made of a computer design for each structure. The design/manufacturing software is then used to drive the roll-forming equipment to produce the structural members, cut to exact size. Wall panels, roof trusses or floor beams can either be assembled in the factory or dispatched in bundles for assembly on site. The light-steel frames and trusses are designed to resist all forces to which the building is expected to be subjected. Each structure is approved by a structural engineer. Once the foundations and concrete floor are cast, the steel wall frames and trusses can be erected within a few days, with a small work team. Installation of external wall cladding, typically fibre-cement board, can now commence, after which the roof cladding or tiles can be fixed. This creates an internal space protected from the weather for the electrician and plumber, after which insulation (typically glass wool) is installed in wall cavities, followed by internal lining consisting of 15mm-thick fire-resistant or waterresistant gypsum board.

In SA, the acceptance and application of LSF technology is being driven by industry and policy makers as well as by home owners who are seeking to reduce the time taken to build their home and save on the day-to-day running costs. The LSF camp is adamant that the sustainability benefits of this form of building outperform those of traditional claybrick-and-mortar builds. “The walls for a 200m² brick house have a mass of some 180 tons (90 tons for bricks and 90 tons for cement and sand). That equates to about 18 truckloads of materials,” says Barnard. “The mass of the light-steel frames, the insulation, the lining and the cladding amounts to 11 tons for the same house — less than 10% of the masonry house. It is clear that LSF offers huge logistical cost advantages in terms of transport and handling. “The speed with which LSF can be completed depends mainly on the builder. Proper detailed planning up front is required. The owner should also rather spend an extra week on planning so as to minimise changes to the plan during the building process. If all runs smoothly, a 300m² house should be completed in less than three months.” This saves anyone building a new home significantly, as penalties and levies are charged on land in high-

“You would spend more money on the kitchen finishes than the bricks” Dirk Meyer, MD, Corobrik

end estates. Getting the house up quicker means penalties are stopped. But this is not the full story, according to clay-brick manufacturer Corobrik. Its MD, Dirk Meyer, says there has been a lot of misinformation published about the benefits of LSF at the expense of clay brick. The Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) recently published findings that showed LSF, among other alternate building applications, outperformed clay brick. But according to Meyer the research was flawed and is being redone using like-forlike software that the Clay Brick Association utilises for its own modelling. “This research is not going to make or break the brick industry — it’s not all about energy and thermal performance,” he says. “My problem is with the misinformation and correcting it.” Peter Kidger, marketing director at Corobrik, says the life cycle carbon footprint assessment done by Energetics in Australia is a case in point. “WSP Green by Design also did research for Corobrik and the Clay Brick Association and has shown benefits in terms of the life cycle carbon foot-printing: if you take embodied energy and operational energy and combine the two, clay brick without insulation in the cavity outperforms as

a lower carbon footprint than LSF building with insulation at SANS 204 specifications,” he says. “It’s clear that when it comes to clay brick, embodied energy is higher as built than the alternatives, but in life cycle terms and what it can bring to energy efficiency is lower over a full lifetime cycle.” Sustainability aside, which construction method is cheaper? Smith says that when looking at product costs, labour and professional services, the costs are 5% to 10% cheaper. Barnard agrees: “It can be said in general that the materials used are not less expensive than for traditional building methods. But cost advantages stem from the speed of construction, smaller building teams and earlier occupation.” Meyer says even top-quality face brick in a high-end home will be less than 7% of the total cost of the building. “You would spend more money on the kitchen finishes than on the bricks,” he says. It’s clear each method possesses benefits — from embodied carbon, thermal efficiency and cost points of view — but there is too little research to announce an outright winner. For that we will have to wait a little longer. In the interim, a good compromise may be to combine traditional and new technologies, as is the case in both developing and developed economies.

e’ve all heard people say, “This country is going the same way as Zimbabwe.” Twenty-five years ago this may well have been a compliment. Zimbabwe in the early 1990s appeared to be a thriving democratic success. These days, however, anyone comparing SA with our northern neighbour almost certainly means it as an indictment of our leaders. It is a disparaging reference to how Zimbabwe’s political elite has engineered the collapse of its economy. There is no question that the Zimbabwean government made some disastrous decisions.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Zimbabwe’s GDP per capita on a purchasing power parity basis was $2,000 in 2014, putting it at a world ranking of 203rd

In 2010, Forbes rated Zimbabwe as the world’s worst economy, based on how badly it had been managed. More recently, figures from New World Wealth show that Zimbabwe is the worst performing country in Africa in terms of wealth per capita performance since 2000. What was one of the wealthiest countries in sub-Saharan Africa 15 years ago is now one of the poorest. It has been a shameful decline, and we in SA are only too well aware of its effects. The millions of Zimbabweans who have crossed the Limpopo as economic refugees have added a new, and unfortunately sometimes tragic, social dynamic to this country. It is easy to point to many of the blunders made in Zimbabwe and argue that those are the things we shouldn’t do here. We can see which economic policies have been the most calamitous. But I’m not convinced that is the real lesson we should be taking from that country. I remember visiting Zimbabwe in 1999, a time when supermarket shelves were empty and you couldn’t get any petrol. But what shocked me more than any of that was that Zimbabweans had turned on each other. They had retreated into their old groupings — Matabele, Shona, white, coloured — and from the safety of their kraals were pointing fingers. The promise of social cohesion that followed that country’s independence had been wiped out. The great irony is that the ruling party which so loathed the former colonial master had used that oldest of colonial tricks for its political purposes — divide and conquer. It had successfully split the country into antagonistic groupings, which is the easiest way to weaken a population. Without any cohesion, the people of Zimbabwe have been at the mercy of their government. And that is the tragedy that SA really needs to avoid. The surest way to prevent this country from “going the way of Zimbabwe” is to find common ground and unity of purpose. That means cooperation at every level — government, business, labour and civil society. Anything less would be a tragedy.

INVESTMENT Friday 8 May 2015

FOOD

A rose by another name An old favourite has been reinvented for a new setting in Bryanston WORDS: GRAHAM WOOD :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

afé del Sol, tucked away in an unassuming shopping centre in Olivedale, is one of those gems that seem too good to be true. It just doesn’t look like the kind of place where you’d be blown away by delicious, authentic Italian cuisine. But it is. It should be a neighbourhood secret, and maybe it once was, but for some time the cat has been out of the bag: Café del Sol raked in an Eat Out award for best Italian restaurant a few years back, backed by a subsequent Leisure Options Best of Joburg award. Now you won’t be surprised if you have to wait weeks for a booking. When their landlord revamped the Bryanston Shopping Centre (just off William Nicol Drive) and offered them a prime spot, opportunity beckoned to Luciana Treccani, her daughter Chiara Viljoen and her son Ryan Viljoen (their father’s half Italian, if you were wondering). But Café del Sol is not the kind of place you can replicate: it has that magic you just can’t pull off twice. “Amazing food in funny shopping centre” isn’t a business model. They needed to change their approach. “We wanted

to offer something new,” says Chiara. “It’s not a franchise.” With the same family presence and attention to details, they presented something different, inventing the Botanico banner to signal a new take. While a dozen or so of the original Café del Sol’s favourites have made it onto its new sibling’s menu, it’s had quite a revamp. Where Olivedale’s menu is influenced by the family’s northern Italian roots, Botanico has a lighter and more modern, southernItalian-inflected menu. (Luciana and Chiara went to the Italian Culinary Institute in Southern Italy to extend their expertise.) Olivedale is traditional; Botanico is modern. “It’s very contemporary Italian,” says Chiara. “It has a more refined, modern touch.” They have thrown in some tricks, such as blending colours into pasta, resulting in beetroot pasta and squid-ink tagliolini, for example. They’ve also given the whole place a rather elegant, sophisticated decor treatment with a botanical theme complete with Scandinavian moss wall and a vertical garden to capture something of

the spirit of a new urban culture of freshness and wholesomeness. It’s certainly a daring move — starting something new with the old name still in place. You run the risk of confusing newcomers and disappointing old faithfuls. But guess what? “Book well in advance to avoid disappointment.”

They presented something different, inventing the Botanico banner to signal a new take. While a dozen or so of the original Café del Sol’s favourites have made it onto its new sibling’s menu, it’s had quite a revamp

ADVERTISING FEATURE Friday May 8, 2015

Secure and private Cape living at Sitari Country Estate Sitari offers residents all the charm of country living and all the conveniences of modern life WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS: SUPPLIED

onstruction is well under way on the R4bn Sitari Country Estate near Somerset West. Set between the N2 and R102 and neighboured by the Croydon Olive and Vineyard Country estates, this new suburb is being built just 10km from sought-after Somerset West, 20km from historical Stellenbosch, 35km from the Northern Suburbs and 39km from the Cape Town CBD. Built in a contemporary rural architectural design, it will offer its residents magnificent views of the Helderberg mountain range and the joys of being surrounded by orchards, groves, vineyards, parks and herb gardens. Developer Uvest Property Group reported more than R100m in completed sales during the first five months of phase one. Phase two was launched in March and includes some of the best plots of land available in the estate. Buyers may

choose from country plots, village homes and luxury apartments. The plots, from 440m2 to 632m2, are priced from R710,000 to R1.165m. Buyers will be able to select their own architect and builder from an accredited panel. The village homes are turnkey completed freestanding homes with three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a double garage. They are priced from R2.298m to R2.984m, all costs included. At the Grand Olive luxury apartment block there are a few two-bedroom suites remaining for purchase. Priced from R1.115m to R1.554m, they all offer superior fixtures and fittings by internationally recognised brands such as Miele and Grohe. Sitari Country Estate offers a convenient country lifestyle and a range of amenities and security on a level that will be hard to match. There will be a clubhouse with

restaurant, business area, kids’ play zone, resort-style pool area, 22ha wetland with timber decks and bird hides, various play parks and a central park spine with windmill, gardens and water features and a 14km cycling and running route. Amenities will include the independent Curro Sitari school, catering for more than 2,000 children from creche (Curro Castle) right through to matric, as well as a shopping centre, a retirement village and a medical facility. The

school and the inspiring 9,450m² main gatehouse at Sitari Country Estate are under construction. John Coetzee, an executive director at Uvest, describes the estate’s security system: “Sitari Country Estate combines high-end security with first-rate technology to provide an unparalleled security system. Access to the estate is controlled primarily through the main and secondary gatehouses. Both gatehouses will have biometric readers, number plate recognition and

24/7 manned personnel. Each property is linked to this control room via a telephonic intercom system. The exterior fencing will be installed as from this month. Visually appealing, it will include under-digging serrated strips (mole barriers), anti-cut and anti-climb solutions, electric wire along the top and Future Fibre technology with touch-sensitive triggers that activate the control room. “Infrared cameras with full night vision will focus on

the boundary perimeter, and a roaming armed security vehicle will be dispatched to any disturbed point.” “We have seen a significant spike in buyer interest from Gauteng, owing to the winelands’ country ambience combined with the location and top-notch security,” says sales manager Martin van Rooyen. With all of this on offer, it is not surprising that buyers have been coming from all corners of SA as well as from abroad to be a part of this iconic estate.

ADVERTISING FEATURE Friday May 8, 2015

GET IN TOUCH Sitari Property Sales Martin van Rooyen 083 452 6909 Office 087 890 0033 View sitari.co.za for a video on the estate.

“We have seen a significant spike in buyer interest from Gauteng, owing to the winelands’ country ambience combined with the location and top-notch security” Martin van Rooyen, sales manager, Sitari Country Estate

INVESTIGATION Friday May 8 2015

To bond-originate or to go solo? Bond originators certainly make the application process easier for clients, but do they get better results? WORDS: GRAHAM BARLOW :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

“The number one reason for using Ooba is our approval success rate” Bradd Bendall, head of national sales, Ooba

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INVESTIGATION Friday May 8 2015

here was a time when banks seemed to be begging people to take out bonds. Or if they already had one, to take more, please take more! Advertising was blatant: use the funds for additions, renovations, a new car, a holiday. Ask and you’ll receive. Credit checks appeared to be cursory. What wasn’t highlighted was the downside: when interest rates go up, so will your repayments. This was the cause of much subsequent heartbreak and many forced sales. Those days are over, fortunately, and at present financing is regulated by the more stringent rules of the National Credit Act; money is not handed out to every client who darkens the bank manager’s door, cap in hand. In fact, according to information supplied by BetterLife Home Loans CEO Shaun Rademeyer of, 29% of applicants for mortgages were declined outright in the 12 months before April 2015. While this has come down from a high of 38% over the same period in 2013, it is still a substantial portion of applications. The past decade has seen the rise of a new force on the home loan market, namely the

“If a client shows us proof that they have received a better offer from another bank, we’ll match it” Standard Bank Home Loans client adviser

bond originator. Simply put, a bond originator works on exactly the same principles as an insurance broker of old: an intermediary between client and the financial institutions. The advantages, say the originators, are selfevident: you have a suite of banks to deal with, allowing you to choose the lowest interest rate and, importantly, you don’t have the hassle of dealing directly with the banks. Applying is made as easy as possible. “We do that for you,” say the originators, “and our clout comes from the large amount of business we offer to the institutions.” An early knockout to the bond originators? Not really, say the banks. WHAT THE PARTIES SAY I phoned the home loans departments of a few banks as a potential client to find out what their response to the bond originator scoring points would be. The Standard Bank Home Loans client adviser (who wished to remain anonymous) was extremely efficient and very knowledgeable: “If a client shows us proof that they have received a better offer from another bank, we’ll match it.”

Always? “If their credit rating is good, of course.” What of the insinuation that the service from an originator is better? “We appoint a consultant to handle the application, who will keep the client informed every step of the way. We have had complaints from some clients who have turned to us for bonds that originators have not always provided adequate feedback,” she said. This last point was echoed by the equally efficient FNB Home Loans representative, who remains anonymous simply because we were cut off mid-call. “We have had clients who have had bad experiences with bond originators. The complaints are that outstanding issues are not followed up.” I asked whether FNB would match lower rates if offered elsewhere, and the consultant confirmed they would. An important point that came out of discussions with both camps was that the banks do not see the bond originators as opposition. This is borne out by the fact that the commission paid to the originator is funded by the banks, not the clients. This is in direct opposition to the assurance world, where all commissions are funded

from clients’ premiums. This signifies collusion, I said to both banks. “Most certainly,” said Standard Bank’s client adviser. “We work closely with all the bond originators. They provide us with a high proportion of our clients.” Not only Standard Bank clients either, she confirmed. Which raises the question as to why clients from other banks did not approach their own institution for an equivalent interest rate? Unsurprisingly, Standard Bank’s client adviser could not answer this question. Bradd Bendall, head of national sales for pioneering bond originators Ooba, explains the benefits of using its services: “The number one reason for using Ooba is our approval success rate. In March, as an example, the banks had a national approval rate of 51%. Ooba had a 76% approval rate — 25% more successful.” How does it achieve this? “By matching clients with banks. We know the target market of all the banks and where a client has a better chance of success. An individual will very seldom approach other banks after being rejected by his institution.” He says

the convenience of dealing with an intermediary is almost as important, as is the understanding that there are no hidden costs. He sees the success of the bond originators in their being recognised by the banks, which are reducing their bond sales components considerably. In this debate there is another important element to consider — the estate agent, whose sale is often dependent on a successful bond application. Carol Reynolds, Pam Golding Properties area principal in Durban, Durban North and La Lucia, is a firm believer in the efficiencies of bond originators. “A bond originator has a direct line to the estate agent, enabling the agent to stay in control of the bond process, thereby protecting both seller and purchaser

from unforeseen delays,” she says. But she sees the banks as more obscurant. “Often, where purchasers attempt to deal directly with their own banks there is an understandable lack of knowledge of the terminology and time frames associated with raising a bond. Delays may have the result that the bond clause may lapse, leaving both seller and purchaser without a sale.” A delay in obtaining a bond often sees a sale going to a another buyer. Therefore, Reynolds says, “most of our sales are concluded with the assistance of bond originators such as Ooba, who advise the purchaser and ensure timeous fulfilment of the bond clause”. I’d say it’s a points victory for originators, but if you have a strong relationship with your bank they’ll put up a good fight.

“Most of our sales are concluded with the assistance of bond originators such as Ooba, who advise the purchaser and ensure timeous fulfilment of the bond clause” Carol Reynolds, area principal, Durban, Durban North and La Lucia, Pam Golding Properties

INTERNATIONAL Friday May 8 2015

SA through the eyes of foreigners WORDS: ANNA-MARIE SMITH :: PHOTOS: ISTOCK, CHAS EVERITT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY GROUP

The weakening rand and year-round sunshine remain the key drivers behind the estimated 5.5% foreign investment in the local residential market

“Perceptions of the South African market change once foreign visitors experience the country’s positive investment environment” Berry Everitt, CEO, Chas Everitt International Property Group

igh regard for property as a quality asset class, in addition to the major depreciation of the rand, is complemented by the geographical spread and varied lifestyle choices on offer. “Perceptions of the South African market change once foreign visitors experience the country’s positive investment environment,” says Chas Everitt International Property Group CEO Berry Everitt. He notes that international buyers who optimise favourable discounts on foreign currencies have access to more than good weather, magnificent views and outdoor living. “Foreigners looking to buy primary and secondary residences are attracted by the country’s welcoming hospitality and entertainment sectors, which facilitate a relatively cheap lifestyle when compared with global destinations.” The South African residential market has become a lot cheaper in recent years for foreigners whose incomes are denominated in euros, dollars and pounds. John Loos of First National Bank, who reports a steady rise in sales to foreign buyers, says: “Not only is South African property a lot cheaper for foreign buyers than a few years ago, but property is more popular as an asset

INTERNATIONAL Friday May 8 2015

“Foreigners looking to buy primary and secondary residences are attracted by the country’s welcoming hospitality and entertainment sectors that facilitate a relatively cheap lifestyle when compared with global destinations” Berry Everitt, CEO, Chas Everitt International Property Group class globally compared with its status a few years ago.” Nonresident buyers enjoy relative ease of entry into the local economy, such as the South African Reserve Bank’s criteria that allow mortgage finance, provided that 50% is paid in cash. A regulated real estate industry and a strong banking sector that ensures quality builds help mitigate exposure to crime and political instability. Everitt says the desirability

of South African real estate ownership is most prevalent among visitors from North America, the UK and Europe, whereas sun-loving Australian visitors may explore the African continent as tourists but are spoilt for choice closer to home. Lightstone data shows the purchase value of luxury homes by foreigners during 2014 represented R9.7bn, or $867m, of which 53% were cash sales and 47% bonded. Foreign buyers accounted for 8,530 of the 280,395 registered sales during 2013 and 2014. Another point to consider when looking at foreign direct investment statistics, however, is that the property market is a two-way street that involves both buyers and sellers, says Andrew Golding, CEO of the Pam Golding Property Group. He says the net sales by foreign owners during the same period totalled R11.3bn. Major tourist areas in SA suit wealthy buyers who have a preference for direct property investments in global hotspots, as opposed to fund vehicles. The Knight Frank Prime International Residential Index 2015 shows that Cape Town’s annual price growth of 13.2% places the city in eighth position in the world 100 rankings, and Johannesburg in 19th place, with 8.7% growth.

London sits in 32nd position, with growth of 5.1%. Favourable exchange rates allow most foreign investors to buy luxury property in SA, where small, medium and large homes are priced on average at R850,000, R1.2m and R2m respectively. Everitt says: “A major portion of the estimated 5.5% of SA’s foreign-owned property investments, according to 2014 Reserve Bank statistics, were made within the luxury lifestyle sector.” Investments in game and wine farms, as well as in coastal estates in KwaZulu-Natal, the Garden Route and Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard, are high in demand by buyers from the UK, Europe and the US. Commenting on the Atlantic Seaboard, Seeff’s regional MD Ian Slot says the average sales price as at February 2015 stood at R9.4m, up 59% year on year.

Gauteng leads the way in foreign property investment The Western Cape may tick all the boxes as far as lifestyle goes, but Johannesburg and surrounds continue to lure those who wish to be at the centre of the economic hub of Africa WORDS: LEA JACOBS :: PHOTO: ISTOCK

This is largely a result of stronger demand for highervalued properties, says Slot. Everitt says the visible trend in buy-to-let investments in secure private estates is largely thanks to good returns achieved through rental pools during opposite seasons in Europe and the US. The Global Property Guide indicates that SA’s average rental yields of 3.88% are higher than the UK’s 3.21%, and Germany’s 3.34% but close to the 3.91% in the US. The Netherlands and Australia are leading with 5.45% and 4.39% respectively. German investors for instance, who favour private estates such as Fancourt Golf and Lifestyle Resort in George, enjoy the ease of access and greater affordability it provides as compared with European facilities, says Everitt. US investors benefit widely, as

s South Africans we tend to believe that foreigners are flocking to our shores and champing at the bit to invest in upmarket homes in beautiful areas of the country. While this is true to some extent, statistics released by Lightstone last year revealed that foreigners owned about 3% of property around the country. This figure is fairly low when compared with the UK, where it has been estimated that foreigners own approximately 15% of property, and in comparison with the US, where roughly 6% of property has been bought by foreigners. Interestingly, in Brazil, where there are strict regulations governing the foreign ownership of property, the figure is much lower — around the 1% mark. On the face of things, SA is ideally positioned to attract foreign property investment. The rand remains weak, there is a plethora of upmarket homes available and the country enjoys a far more pleasant yearround climate than do many European countries. When we think of foreign ownership, most of us tend to visualise wellheeled globetrotters who have chosen to invest in an extremely upmarket holiday home somewhere

seen in a rough comparison of the cost of a luxury sixbedroom house in the worldclass setting of Camps Bay of about R39m, or $3.1m, against a six-bedroom luxury Miami house listed at $39m, or about R475m. The impact of foreign investment on SA’s growing tourism industry is seen in the commercial and hospitality sectors, with considerable buy-in from the international hotel groups Hilton, Hyatt, and Radisson. From an institutional and

property fund investment perspective, REITs Chairman Lawrence Rapp says that while not enough institutional buyers are coming to the market, the listed sector is seeing healthy levels of investment. A welcoming investment climate in SA also allows the repatriation of funds for nonresident foreign buyers, provided they comply with the Bank’s requirement that all income from property investments be declared for capital gains tax purposes.

“Not only is South African property a lot cheaper for foreign buyers than a few years ago, but property is more popular as an asset class globally compared with its status a few years ago” John Loos, property strategist, First National Bank

along the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town. Indeed, although there are a number of foreign buyers who have bought exquisite homes in this beautiful part of the Cape, the highest number of properties sold to foreigners was in Gauteng. Lightstone statistics reveal that 4,054 homes in Gauteng were sold to foreigners during 2013-14, while the Western Cape registered 2,343 such sales. KwaZulu-Natal attracted 1,024 foreign buyers, and the Eastern Cape 376 in the same period. The total purchase price of properties by these foreign investors was about R9.7bn. Given the difficulty that many foreigners have in securing a bond, 53% of the purchases were cash sales. Lightstone noted that the number of properties sold to foreigners had dropped during this period, but the decline was marginal. However, what may be ringing alarm bells in certain sectors is that more foreigners are selling than buying. The statistics show that about R11bn worth of property owned by foreigners was sold during the same period. It remains to be seen whether there will be any backlash from the government’s stance on foreign property ownership.

Initial concerns would hopefully have been put aside, given that the government has clarified its position on foreign ownership of agricultural land versus foreign ownership of residential property. Likewise, although xenophobia has made international headlines and has had an impact on the lives of thousands of foreigners living in SA, in theory this shouldn’t have any effect on those high-end earners who can afford to invest in property in this country — provided this issue is resolved as quickly as possible.

Although there are a number of foreign buyers who have bought exquisite homes in this beautiful part of the Cape, the highest number of properties sold to foreigners was in Gauteng

NEWS Friday May 8 2015

Drones the next big thing in real estate?

he future of real estate marketing includes the use of unmanned aircraft, or drones, says Adrian Goslett, regional director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa. The aerial footage obtained via a drone could be used to market a property, he asserts. Such footage could provide images of the condition of a property’s roof or of the common areas of a development. It could also be used to give the buyer a virtual tour of the neighbourhood or of a golf course on the estate. “With security a priority for many homeowners, low-flying drones could be used in the future to patrol large areas for trespassers

and automatically relay information to a security tower or the police,” says Goslett. But the industry will have to wait before it can use them legally, as unmannedaircraft systems are not yet in line with the Civil Aviation Authority’s regulations. Goslett says: “With technology changing the

way people live and interact, the evolution of unmanned aircraft could have a positive impact on the real estate sector, provided the correct regulations have been put in place. Used in the right way, drones could be a valuable marketing tool for the real estate professional of the future.”

Rise in demand for vacant land along Garden Route

surge in the uptake of vacant land along the Garden Route and Eastern Cape coastline indicates a market turnaround in these coastal locations, according to Pam Golding Properties. In Mossel Bay, area principal Keith Murray says upcountry buyers are about locations from the Monte Christo area all the way through to Nautilus Bay and Vleesbaai, at prices varying from R250,000 to R1.5m.

V&A Waterfront sees sales worth R167m

oming off a strong year in 2014 with sales of just more than R480m at an average price of R10.7m, activity at the V&A Waterfront Marina has strengthened, with stock shortages playing a role, say Ross Levin and Kim Bailey, Seeff’s agents for the development. The marina has about 500 units. Sixteen sales valued at about R167m have taken place this year, all to cash buyers. and in the past five years sales there have contributed more than R2bn to the economy. At an average unit valuation of R8.6m, the development has a total market value of about R4.3bn, making it the richest in the country.

“They are looking at building over buying second-hand homes, saying it makes financial sense to build as many of the existing homes are still overpriced,” Murray says. “Our sales of vacant land range in price from R250,000 for about 700m2 to R650,000 for about 650m2 in Mossel Bay Golf Estate and Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort, to R1.85m for up to 1 200m2 in a golf estate.”

Large stands increasingly scarce

arge stands in established residential areas are some of the best property investments available, according to Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts Real Estate. “In older cities such as London or New York it is already rare for anyone except the super-rich to have a garden of 1,000m2 or 2,000m2, and infill and brownfields developments are familiar concepts,” he says. “In SA, of course, large gardens are still common in many traditional suburbs, but we are now rapidly catching up with the drive for densification and sustainable development as urbanisation accelerates, and most new developments offer much smaller stands.” There is great scope for the redevelopment of land in less affluent and run-down areas

that are close to city centres or have the potential to become live-work-play precincts, thanks to the preference of “millennial” homebuyers for homes that are within walking distance of all amenities. “These buyers, generally in their late 20s or early 30s, share an absolute aversion to traffic and long commutes and they constitute a huge and growing market for flats and small houses in mixed-use areas. We are already seeing some great examples of urban renewal in our city centres in SA as developers move to meet the demand from millennials by revamping old office blocks and industrial buildings, but we believe there is also much room for new buildings on old sites in inner suburbs that are also already well supplied with infrastructure and services.”

Market slowdown ‘could be good for lower-value homes’

bsa’s home loans report of 10 April 2015 reveals that house prices have declined since January last year. The middle-sector year-onyear house price growth is down to 6.2% from the 10% recorded in August, September and October 2014. But Mike van Alphen, national manager of Rawson Finance, is bullish despite this. He highlights another “highly relevant” figure in the Absa April report, namely that year-on-year real price growth (allowing for inflation) was still at 3.3% in February this year. “That is satisfactory in any struggling economy and even

if, as predicted, rising fuel prices and other increases push inflation above 6% by the end of 2015, it seems likely that house price growth will remain about 2% ahead of the cost price index,” he says. Van Alphen says the slower growth in property prices could also work in favour of homebuyers in the “small” (80m2 to 140m2) category. “All our surveys show that today the demand for home ownership in the lowermiddle and lower income brackets has never been stronger,” he says. “Lowervalue homes have been rising faster in price than any other bracket — in fact, year-on-year, by 10.5%.”

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HOMEFRONT

Marketplace From sea to suburb to city, the country’s most beautiful homes await you

MSP Developments PJ Business Day_ 1.4 page in Property Section_ 8 May 2015_ 264mm x 90mm.pdf 1 2015/04/30 02:06:47 PM

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18 units sold R135 million worth of investment Property purchasers are seeing the potential of buying property at The Houghton. With its on-site reservoir and back-up generator, tenants can be certain they’ll never be in the dark, unless they choose to be. The state-of-the-art security, combined with a luxury golf course and serene surrounds promise peace of mind. Plus, they will have a five-star hotel on their doorstep.

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