residential-property

You are now on the "Residential Property" Page.

Below, you will find all the relevant links to take you to the website homepage for each property company in the Residential Sector of the Durban Property Market with various property to let or for sale in Durban and the surrounding districts.

Please jot down our web address or add to your favourites should you wish to return here to continue your Durban Property Search or to read our Articles, participate in our discussion forum and view our other sites of interest.

The Residential Property Market

At present in the Durban area we are experiencing a slow return in investor confidence as far as the buy to rent market is concerned. The response of the Monetary committee to the dire need for an interest rate reduction has been met, but some investors are wondering if it is a little to late to salvage the property market in general. As with any investment it is case of gearing the finances used to purchase the investment. Gearing is the ratio of own funds used in relation to the funds borrowed against the investment from a financial institution. For the beginner investor, it has become extremely difficult to fund a property investment using majority funds supplied by a financial institution. The laws, the National Credit Act in particular, regarding the borrowing of funds have in some ways protected the South African property market to a certain degree, but at the same time have prevented most families from qualifying to purchase their own home.

It is our personal opinion that not enough incentive has been introduced in South Africa by the financial institutions to encourage savings to be increased. By this statement, we emphasize that if the average pensioner or saver is allocated an interest rate which is far greater than the prime lending rate, a surge of savings would begin to emerge. This scenarion would enable the elderly to protect their pension from the uncertainty of stock market linked funds and at the same time encourage households to save towards the required deposit now necessary to receive preferential treatment when applying for a mortgage loan.

We are not implying that this is a perfect scenario, but it stands to reason that the supply and demand for money is directly related to the interest rates that financial institutions are able to offer as they require more funds from the reserve bank at a slightly reduced than prime interest rate. If there is a movement of pension funds from the traditional stock market linked funds, the risk associated with the funds is reduced and the supply of money becomes increased.

This should enable an increase in consumer confidence reflecting on the Consumer price index and general affordability of homes and construction costs.

Food for thought for today - With Solar energy so readily available, why are we not investing in Solar energy stations in the deserts of South Africa.