With the South African Reserve Bank’s announcement of interest rates cut of 100 basis points and earlier transfer duty exemption for properties below R1 million by the Minister of Finance, local regulations have made it attractive for first-time home buyers to enter the market.

Retail Property challenges are partly about technological advances. But they’re also very much about old fashioned fundamentals…including a big affordability challenge

Rising municipal rates and taxes is a hot-button issue - one that negatively affects, not only operating costs and gross rentals, but also makes demand on property management resources.

Property owners in Johannesburg, Ethekwini and many other municipal areas only have a short time in which to lodge any objections to the new municipal valuations of their properties – and to the new municipal rates based on these valuations that they will be charged from July.

The Reserve bank (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided today to hike its policy Repo Rate by a further 50 basis points to 6.75%, a move that will see Commercial Banks raise their Prime rates to 10.25%.

Ongoing high municipal rate hikes are harming communities because of a lack of understanding about the far-reaching impacts of these increases reports Marius Muller, CEO of Pareto Limited. 

Gauteng Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Lebogang Maile on Monday convened a meeting with Tembisa shopkeepers to discuss municipal rates. 

Latest research into municipal rates and taxes confirms what landlords already know: municipal rates and taxes cost twice as much as they did a decade ago, and represent an ever-increasing slice of operating costs.

When it comes to buying a property most buyers are aware of the cost of obtaining a bond, transfer duties and lawyers fees; not many new home owner consider the cost of municipal rates. 

The Cape Town City Council’s current revaluing of residential property has, as previously, resulted in his property group being flooded with questions from the general public as to the accuracy and reliability of these rates – and, in many cases, the policy on which the Council appears to be working.