Navigating the property industry as a first-time home buyer can be nerve-wracking and overwhelming, and the thought of making a mistake with such a large investment can be enormously stressful. In this article, we unpack the most common mistakes made by first-time property buyers and provide advice on how to avoid them. 1. Not understanding your affordability Before house-hunting, it is important to ensure...

Property has always been regarded as one of the most stable long-term investments, both in terms of market value appreciation and generating a reliable monthly cash flow, but success in the rental arena depends on numerous factors, one of which is understanding your market’s needs. And one of the decisions a landlord must make is whether to rent out a property furnished or unfurnished and, according to...

Before you decide to rent out your home or buy to let, there are some key things prospective landlords should consider, says Paul Stevens, CEO of Just Property. “Being a landlord does not stop when the lease is signed. It involves effort and commitment. Tenants need to be managed to ensure they abide by the terms of the lease and look after your investment, the property needs to be...

Homeowners and consumers are in for more belt-tightening as the interest rate rises for the sixth successive time with the Reserve Bank hiking the repo rate by another 75 bps to 6.25% (base home loan rate to 9.75%. This now effectively takes the interest rate back to the pre-pandemic level. Samuel Seeff, chairman of the Seeff Property Group, says while the hike was largely expected, stability is now vital...

Africa’s largest online student accommodation marketplace has reported a massive undersupply of suitable accommodation for the student market, particularly in cities including Durban, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria. Alexandria Procter from DigsConnect.com says that with the ongoing return to relative normality, students are back in the lecture halls, putting increased...

Residential property developments dominated the Cape Town CBD property scene in 2021, with several impressive residential or mixed-use developments coming on stream. The conversion of commercial office blocks into mixed-use developments (which have a residential and commercial component) to provide flexible living options as well as optimising of co-working and co-living areas continued to be the stand-out...

The work-from-home pandemic-induced trends have spurred a wave of home-based small businesses and cottage industries. According to the Seeff Property Group, estate agents are increasingly dealing with property buyers in search of residential properties where they can live and work from home or run a small business. The answer to that usually depends on the local municipal zoning and land use regulations as...

A total of 13 property developments or redevelopments valued at more than R2.5 billion were completed in the Cape Town CBD during 2021, despite rolling lockdown restrictions prompted by the pandemic. The 13 projects are part of a total of 28 property investments that came on stream in Cape Town Central City in 2021 – either completed, under construction or in the planning phase – valued...

As if property transactions weren’t already convoluted enough with reams of documentation and legalese to navigate, there are also often suspensive conditions included in the Offer to Purchase that need to be met by one or both parties and these need to be gone over with a fine toothcomb. So says Grahame Diedericks, Manager Principal for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, adding that, when...

Getting a foot on the property ladder has always been a primary goal for most people and, as their lives change over the years, so do their property requirements, however, significant shifts in buyer’s priorities in recent years have precipitated notable changes in how these new needs are being met. “Traditionally, the popular first-time buyer choice was a flat in an urban location close to the action...

For family home buyers, probably the most important factor in their choice of location is proximity to good schooling. Yet, says Mohammed Amra, Pam Golding Properties area principal in Durban and Port Shepstone/Margate, some eminently suitable centrally situated suburbs with access to reputable government and private schools are sometimes overlooked. Says Amra: “Schools impact buyers’ needs as they...