They welcomed the news that urban development zone tax incentives would be extended for another five years , but expressed disappointment that Manuel did not raise the threshold for transfer duty on property transactions from the present R500000.

In 2004 government proposed tax relief incentives to encourage urban development in what were called urban development zones.

Property economist Francois Viruly, of Viruly Consulting, said the decision to extend urban development zone incentives was “positive” but he was “disappointed” that the transfer duty threshold was left unchanged.

“I think we’ve got to a point where we should be doing a lot more for first-time homeowners in SA. And we need to have a careful look at the type of subsidy we give homeowners,” he said.

Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group, said: “New entry into the market could have been boosted if minister Manuel raised the thresh old, since property values have escalated recently.”

Andrew Golding, CEO of Pam Golding Properties, said there was “certainly not a lot of significant change or developments emerging from this budget” but welcomed the extension of the urban development zone incentives.

He agreed that transfer duty relief would have aided first-time buyers across all sectors of the property market.