Why now is the time to buy property

When is the right time to buy property? A common response would be “12 months ago” – and they’d be right. As an appreciating asset, property only gets more expensive over time. The best time to buy is typically when house price growth is slow, like it has been for the last few years.

However, that’s possibly all about to change. “In all honesty,” says Adrian Goslett, Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, “there are factors aligning in this country that should get fence-sitters and investors sitting up a little straighter and leaning in. Am I saying there will be a property boom in the next 2 years? Maybe, but what I am really saying is that the next few months are going to be the best time for buyers to negotiate terms and that sellers should give offers serious and careful consideration,” says Goslett.

Echoing these sentiments, in the Economist’s Notes of the September BetterBond Property Brief, Dr Roelof Botha unpacks the different reasons why August 2024 turned out to be a bumper month on the economic front. He points out that the most important development was the consumer price index landing at 4.6% – just above the mid-point of the Reserve Bank’s target range. Added to that, the producer price index dropped to an encouraging 4.2%, the rand is continuing to strengthen, retail trade sales are bouncing back and our GDP is improving. According to him, the property market is on track for a welcomed recovery.

Goslett adds that the Government of National Unity, “while still in its honeymoon phase, has been the best the country could have hoped for from a stable political climate. This all bodes well when it comes to business, as well as local and foreign investment,” Goslett comments.

“Speaking of foreign investment, property in South Africa is still extremely affordable when compared to the rest of the world. The value you get when making a purchase in SA in euros and dollars is incomparable to what you would get in most places. And, when you add political stability into the mix, you get a recipe for growth within the local real estate market,” he states.

What does this all mean? Well, the slow house price growth we’ve been experiencing is likely to come to an end soon. “Affordability will become less of a barrier as interest rates come down, turning the current seller’s market into more of a buyer’s market over time. It is in this space between how we feel about something – the sentiment of a rate decrease or improving economic outlook – and when the majority of people act on it, that savvy investors make their move,” Goslett explains.

For those who can afford to purchase real estate now, the window of opportunity is closing. Goslett recommends reaching out to a local agent to find a prime real estate investment opportunity before the market conditions change.

Writer: Kayla Ferguson