The SA Institute of Valuers (SAIV) is a voluntary association representing ±70% of all registered valuation professionals in South Africa.  The professional valuers are the accredited parties in commerce who investigates the market on a daily basis and determine value based on these investigations and research.

It is therefore with interest that we at the SAIV have taken note of the report brought out by the “panel of experts” to make certain recommendations in respect of the sale of land to foreigners.  Much of this report hinges around the political question of ownership to foreigners and also deals with the slow pace of transformation in land ownership.

We at the SAIV cannot comment on the political question of should foreigners be allowed to purchase or not, although we are sure that significant more foreign investment is found on our bourse and in government bonds that can ever be hoped to be found in property.  Land transformation is slow but this can be sped up significantly if the best expert and professional valuers are used for land transformation purposes, and not the cheapest so called “valuers” money can buy in the market place.  This will resolve many if not most of the existing disputes around compensation for outstanding land claims and also facilitate the “willing buyer/willing seller” stance of government.  Does one really need such drastic measures as a land moratorium?  We are relieved the Minister intervened, at least for the time being.

The SAIV is however surprised that the expert panel did not consult the real experts in property values on the impact of foreign purchases on property prices, as this is one of the areas on which the panel commented.  To our knowledge this impact is really negligible, but the contrary may also apply and that is that a moratorium should therefore not really impact on property prices, which may be viewed as a positive or negative depending on ones angle of approach.  However, the discouragement of foreign investment in property may also discourage other investments affecting the economy which may then adversely affect the property market