"The total number of civil summonses issued for debt for the first quarter of 2009 increased by 22.1% compared with the first quarter of 2008, Statistics South Africa reported on Thursday.
"There was also an increase of 40.9% between March 2008 and March 2009."
That second para is the shocker - a huge uptick in summonses in March, which means it's not impossible that the April and May figures were even worse. In other words, an absolute shytestorm of debt drowning all those people who were going to save our housing market.
Given that 2008 was supposed to be worst of it, one has to wonder if our crash has even started in earnest yet.
The "green shoots" in the US and UK have turned into dead brown stumps, and those nice young men at Goldman Sachs said this week that UK prices still have to fall another 10 percent before they hit bottom.
One curious new development I've noticed over the weekend. I was shopping for traveling bag and in one store the salesperson offered me a 10% discount if I paid cash. I then went to another shop and asked if they had any discounts. They also said they will give me 10% off of anything if I paid cash.
I actually have quite a few people working on my estate. All of them dirt poor, due to their reckless week-end spending at the liqourama. If i paid them more, they'd drink more.
excuse my nimby attitude, but some unbiased opinions from those in the know would be top drawer.
@ Anon Landed Bourgoise. Helen Zille is in your corner, she would never permit the rich to suffer the indignity of living next to poor people and even if she did, a low cost housing estate in Constantia wouldn't last long. The microsecond the no-sale clause lapsed in those RDP houses they would be snapped up by middle claass couples and singles waving wads of cash at people earning R50 a day. There's plenty of suitable Constantia resident wannabes who have been priced out of the housing market elsewhere. The poors living in them just wouldn't be able to resist having the price of 2-3 RDP houses (at least), out by Kraaifontein or Malmesbury in exchange + lots left over for the liquerama of course. As a single, middle class whitey I would love to live in a Constantia RDP house. I'd be able to do something really nice with it but I'm far too rich and pale to get on the housing list and would probably be killed before long if I moved into a poor RDP development. Think of a RDP house as an " 1Bed 1Bath - understated cottage with small garden, perfect for a single professional"
7 comments:
From I-Net Bridge today (Saturday 23rd May):
"The total number of civil summonses issued for debt for the first quarter of 2009 increased by 22.1% compared with the first quarter of 2008, Statistics South Africa reported on Thursday.
"There was also an increase of 40.9% between March 2008 and March 2009."
That second para is the shocker - a huge uptick in summonses in March, which means it's not impossible that the April and May figures were even worse. In other words, an absolute shytestorm of debt drowning all those people who were going to save our housing market.
Given that 2008 was supposed to be worst of it, one has to wonder if our crash has even started in earnest yet.
The "green shoots" in the US and UK have turned into dead brown stumps, and those nice young men at Goldman Sachs said this week that UK prices still have to fall another 10 percent before they hit bottom.
One curious new development I've noticed over the weekend. I was shopping for traveling bag and in one store the salesperson offered me a 10% discount if I paid cash. I then went to another shop and asked if they had any discounts. They also said they will give me 10% off of anything if I paid cash.
Anonymous Coward
Re: the constantia firgrove low cost housing scheme. basically a smallscale houtbay/imizamo yethu plan.
apparently the ANC WCape government transferred the property to national government in april. . . next week they were out of office.
anyone think these guys are actually serious, or is it just some sh1t stirring to get the rich whiteys all worried?
constantia concerned
Are you worried? God forbid any of the Noble Classes of Constantia have to lay eyes on a poor person.
Low cost housing in CONstantia sounds like a fantastic idea to me...
thanks anon#1 for the constructive point.
I actually have quite a few people working on my estate. All of them dirt poor, due to their reckless week-end spending at the liqourama. If i paid them more, they'd drink more.
excuse my nimby attitude, but some unbiased opinions from those in the know would be top drawer.
concon
@ Anon Landed Bourgoise.
Helen Zille is in your corner, she would never permit the rich to suffer the indignity of living next to poor people and even if she did, a low cost housing estate in Constantia wouldn't last long. The microsecond the no-sale clause lapsed in those RDP houses they would be snapped up by middle claass couples and singles waving wads of cash at people earning R50 a day. There's plenty of suitable Constantia resident wannabes who have been priced out of the housing market elsewhere.
The poors living in them just wouldn't be able to resist having the price of 2-3 RDP houses (at least), out by Kraaifontein or Malmesbury in exchange + lots left over for the liquerama of course.
As a single, middle class whitey I would love to live in a Constantia RDP house. I'd be able to do something really nice with it but I'm far too rich and pale to get on the housing list and would probably be killed before long if I moved into a poor RDP development.
Think of a RDP house as an " 1Bed 1Bath - understated cottage with small garden, perfect for a single professional"
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