Given the intense political changes South Africa has gone through in recent days one might expect that the property market would suffer even further, but this hasn’t turned out to be the case at all. With the rise of President Ramaphosa the property market immediately began to witness signs for recovery from the stagnation of the last few years.
Although many Pam Golding Properties (PGP) agents experienced slower activity in the fourth quarter of 2017, the majority (51.5%) anticipated a strengthening in activity in the first quarter of 2018, according to the latest PGP Estate Agent Survey. In Q4 2017, PGP agents identified the political uncertainty (26.9%) and tough economy (27.4%) as the key obstacles to activity in their areas along with lack of affordability (18.4%), difficult accessing finance (13.8%) and shortage of stock (13.6%).
According to The Lightstone Group, a prominent real estate investment company, first-time buyers remain a key factor in Gauteng and recent political developments should benefit the Gauteng market because over the past 12 years, half of all first-time buyers bought property in Gauteng – not only because of more plentiful job opportunities but also because homes are generally more affordable compared to the Western Cape.
This makes buying property in Alexandra one of a series of popular options as more entry level housing areas are available in the province than elsewhere, and local development often sees value added to initial investments. “In Johannesburg, there has been a noticeable uptick in enquiries, sales activity and show houses, with a number of potential buyers now more comfortable committing to paper”, notes Rupert Finnemore, PGP Gauteng Regional Executive.
And so the experts appear to agree. Gauteng property may be set to soar.
