Understanding sentiment in the property market
First time buyers looking at property for sale in Mpumalanga have to deal with a lot of new information during the process. Understanding the current sentiment can help how you plan your approach and gives you an idea of the general feeling at present.
If you have recently decided to look at property for sale in Mpumalanga and are a first-time buyer, it may be a good idea for you to get a better understanding of what the current sentiment is in the residential property market.
There are still many opportunities available for buyers, sellers and investors but there was news recently that positive sentiment has continued to fall slightly. This came after the release of the most recent ABSA Homeowner Sentiment Index (HSI), which uses a sample of urban consumers to determine what the feeling is across the market.
Taking a look at how consumers feel about the market on an overall basis, there was a 2% drop in positive sentiment when comparing the first and second quarters of this year. This was not the best news, but it showed that there was a smaller dip when comparing the last quarter of 2017 with the start of this year, which is a bit more positive.
It is good to know that many consumers are still confident that when they buy property, they take ownership of a secure asset. Added to this, they are confident that they will get a good return on their spend, as they believe that their property will continue to gain value.
Some of the negativity has come from the political situation in South Africa. At the start of the year there was some serious political uncertainty which affected more than just the property market, but the land reform issue then made things even tenser. That issue has since been discussed in more detail, but it will take time to recover from the initial knock.
When moving through each section of the report, there was no sector that had a positive swing, with buying, selling, investing and renovating suffering drops in sentiment. Consumers still felt that buying was the preferred option over renting, but even that sector saw a dip.
The rest of 2018 is expected to follow a similar pattern, and with increased financial strain on households, the market could suffer a little more before positive feelings start to return. But with this knowledge at hand, you can properly plan how you take to the market to buy or sell a property.
