South Africa’s downgraded status by international agencies is likely to have significant impact on the construction industry as the cost of credit rises, particularly in existing contracts.

Equites Property Fund Limited today announced a 14% increase in full year distributions to 110.37 cents per share.

JSE-listed diversified real estate investment trust Redefine Properties has delivered another solid performance after increasing its distribution by 7.5% to 44.82 cents per share for the six months to 28 February 2017.

The first month of 2017 saw the value of outstanding credit balances in the South African household sector rising by a much subdued 0,6% year-on-year (y/y) to R1 494,2 billion, after growth of 0,7% y/y at end-2016.

MAS Real Estate Inc (“MAS”), a commercial property investor, developer and operator listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) and the Euro-MTF market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (“LuxSE”).

If Sandton, the financial centre of South Africa, has been impacted by the national economic slowdown, the city appears, at least physically, to show little sign of this.

2017 looks to be a challenging year for the South African property market, as quarterly statistics released by ooba, South Africa’s largest bond originator, point to ongoing affordability constraints for South African consumers.

The value of outstanding credit balances in the South African household sector increased by a negligible 0,7% to R1 485,7 billion in 2016, down from growth of 4,5% in 2015.

The announcement by the Monetary Policy Committee meeting that the repo rate remains unchanged is surely what is needed to help fuel increased activity in the residential property market, says Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group.

Building activity with regard to new private sector-financed housing in South Africa remained much subdued in the first eleven months of 2016 compared with the corresponding period in 2015, based on data published by Statistics South Africa.