Good news for property owners as interest rate remains stagnant
In the market for a new property? The market is currently in buyers’ favour as the interest rate remains as is.
Property owners will be pleased to know that the South African Reserve Bank has left the base home loan interest rate at 10.5% after the the repo rate (the interest rate that the South African Reserve banks charges banks for lending money) stayed at 6.75%. This will make the lives of buyers and sellers easier as transactions can continue to as they were, with no added financial strains.
According to Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of Pam Golding Properties, the decision to retain the current interest rates is a good one, and he believes 2019 has a lot of potential for the property market; “Foreign investment is on standby and all things being equal we will see an increase in activity, given that we are a favoured world emerging market. If this occurs, the local property market will start to see significant improvements in activity.”
A number of other property experts have welcomed the stagnant interest rate, as stability is hoped to add buyer confidence to the property market. The interest rate looks set to do for appropriately priced properties between R1 million and R3 million. They are expected to keep selling in reasonable time frames, while those priced higher are forecast to be a little more difficult to sell. Sellers of higher priced properties are advised that with the current buyers market where options are in abundance, they should make their asking price more attractive to prospective buyers in order to secure a sale sooner.
After 2018’s downturn in the market, 2019 holds positive potential. Property ownership is still seen as a good investment in the country, and more buyers than in previous months have been recorded. “Locally, economic and residential activity appears to be rebounding modestly as buyers capitalise on sound buying opportunities in the current environment”, says Golding. Whether you’re buying in Johannesburg or greater Gauteng, it seems now is a good time to buy. For more buying advice, check out Private Property’s buying section for tips and insights.
