This years’ “women’s month” was nothing short of an oxymoron with horrific acts of violence towards women and children, both highlighting the extent of the problem and the need for the country to take continue to a stand and work together to protect society’s most vulnerable.

Real estate has long been touted as a good investment on the basis of property having excellent value, but in order to capitalise in a dynamic marketplace, one has to understand the meaning of value in this context and the key factors which contribute to this value.

Being a landlord can be just as challenging as managing any other business and, in a slow market where stock outnumbers prospective tenants, its especially important to have a thorough understanding of the current rental market and to take a hard, objective look at your property.

Long the unassuming and often overlooked wallflower of the Southern Suburbs, Plumstead has been attracting growing investor interest in recent years, especially since the bubble burst three years ago.

Although a date is yet to be set for the implementation of the looming Rental Housing Amendment Act, many of the proposed changes, including criminal liability for non-compliant landlords, have sparked considerable concern.

Reacting to the President’s address, Yael Geffen, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty, said South Africa was the living embodiment of the “good news, bad news” paradigm.

Although the Camps Bay market has responded predictably to the prevailing socio-economic climate with lower sales volumes across the board, it has proven more resilient than most comparable areas this year with a 1.88% increase in the average house price and a diminishing gap between asking and selling prices.

Spiralling electricity costs and the escalating energy crisis have fuelled a fast-growing trend towards energy-efficiency and green building principles during the past decade, but ecological awareness could prove a costly exercise for Cape home-owners who fail to comply with new regulations.

Buying and selling property is a complex process, made all the more daunting by a multitude of potential pitfalls that can compromise a sale, but even more perilous is the proliferation of brazen fraudsters whose increasingly sophisticated scams are not only fleecing buyers and sellers but also property practitioners.

After a four year high of unprecedented double-digit growth, South Africa’s strongest market took a knock in 2017 with a significant drop in sales volumes and price growth, but the new year has got off to a promising start with a record apartment sale price and three sales within 24 hours of listing.