Christmas Sunday Open Thread

I'm somewhere in the Garden Route dodging for sale signs on golf estates, but it's still time for the open thread - Christmas edition!

Sunday Open Thread

It's the Sunday Open Thread!!

The Orangerie: Will The Bloodbath Stop?

It was barely a month ago when we discovered 2 bed apartments at The Orangerie, which had initially been on the market for +R3million were now being sold off for R2.5million.

Now Pam Golding has two more 2 bed units with an asking price of R2 395 000. And there is no transfer duty as it's direct from the developer, which means that if you bought in the Orangerie and you're trying to sell you are competing with the developer, who can probably cut prices again if required, and the buyer has to pay transfer.

Good luck!

Sunday Open Thread

It's the Sunday Open Thread. This weeks topic, with the selling season in high gear are things worse, better or the same for agents and sellers?

Sunday Open Thread

It's time for the Sunday Open Thread!

The Orangerie: The Bloodbath Continues

Back in January we wrote how apartments in The Orangerie, which had been initially sold for well over R3 million were being sold by the developer for R2 850 000. It seems since then time has not helped those prices recover.

This ad is a new listing for a 2 bed apartment in The Orangerie.

The asking price? Now down to R2 500 000.

Rare Sale In Execution In Sea Point Spotted

Sea Point Reader-in-Chief PJ writes:

Spotted a rare notice of a Sale In Execution on an apartment in Sea Point in a block called Oakholm. Usually the process never gets that far because a buyer usually steps in beforehand. Not this time...

Sunday Open Thread

It's time for the belated Sunday Open Thread!

Well This Is A First

Just received a spam SMS from Burgundy Estates.

Guess no one is walking into the sales office anymore...

ABSA: House Prices Growth Lagging Behind Inflation

Houses hurting as inflation outpaces property prices

House prices are not growing in line with inflation, according to Absa's latest property price indices released on Monday.

"The average real price [at constant 2008 prices] of houses in the middle-segment of the market was in September this year about 13% below its peak of mid-2007," Absa Home Loans property analyst Jacques du Toit said in a statement.

"This was the result of average nominal house price growth being below the average headline consumer price inflation rate during this period."

In nominal growth, the effects of inflation are not taken into account, while real prices factor in the effect of inflation.

Your Architecture Is Sad: Sea Point

There's bad architecture... and then there's sad architecture. This 3 bed house in Sea Point sent in by reader PJ is a prime example of that. PJ writes:

Sea Point is home to a fantastic mixture of architecture. But look at this POS. It's two concrete boxes stacked on top of each other. They'll call it "modern", I call it cheap.

Lew Geffen Atlantic Seaboard Dust Up

Trust me being out the country when some truly juicy stuff starts going down. It seems Lew Geffen is getting into some dirty dealings with his Atlantic Seaboard franchisees. Reader KS sent me a link to a blog covering all the news: Lew Geffen Sothebys Scandals.

Epic 4 Week Open Thread

Been shipped off to the UK for 2 weeks followed by another 2 weeks holiday touring around Europa. See you in a bit.

Sunday Open Thread

It's the Saturday..err... Sunday Open Thread!

Mandela Rhodes Place Liquidated

When we first wrote about Mandela Rhodes Pace back in February 2007, it was literally underwater.

Then in July 2011 we heard that even though it had been completed years earlier it was still releasing unsold apartments onto the market.

And now, it's being liquidated with supposedly 62(!) unsold apartments hitting the market. If you bought into MRP and are trying to sell... my condolences.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread!

Ugliest House in Cape Town on Auction!

Reader DM wrote in to tell us that the ugliest house in Cape Town, last seen on sale for 10 bar in April 2011, is now up for auction.

Just read this opening sentence: 'Buy the plot and get the house for free'. It's so ugly it's nearly worthless!

Sunday Open Thread

It's the Sunday Open Thread.

Folks I'm being absolutely smashed at work at the moment and there's a very good chance I'm going to be sent to Ol' Blighty for a month or so, so posting might be light till then...

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread!

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday open thread!

Golf Estate Holiday Homes - A Match Made in Financial Hell

We know that when things turn south in the property market, holiday homes are usually the first to be offloaded at discount prices. And we also know that golf estates tend to be crap investments. So combine the two and what do you get? The Garden Route!

Property slump hits Garden Route golf estates

The property market slump has also taken the shine off the host of multimillion-rand golf estate developments on the Garden Route, a sector which less than 10 years ago was still being heralded as a major economic driver for the region.

This year alone the golf estates of Pinnacle Point in Mossel Bay and Le Grande in George have been on the receiving end of insolvency rulings, while property advertising suggests other Garden Route golf estates are under pressure.

Last week there were 26 properties for sale at the Oubaai golf estate outside George, with stands from R1 million to luxury houses listed for R10m up for grabs.

Pinnacle Point had 15 properties for sale, including a R14m luxury house, 53 properties were listed at Pezula in Knysnawhile 46 properties were on sale at Kingswood in George.

Saturday Open Thread: "Prices to Decline" - MoneyWeb

Residential property prices to deteriorate

Housing prices have been coming down in real terms for much of 2011 and this negative growth trend is something that property analysts expect to continue for at least the rest of the year, probably longer.

With investment in residential property more likely to lose the average homeowner money in the near term, Moneyweb asks whether those consumers who have a choice should be opting to rent or to buy.

Saturday Open Thread: Boks Vs. All Blacks Edition

It's the Saturday Open Thread. Go Boks!

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread.

Banks Downscaling Home Loan Departments

Banks brace for home loan sales staff retrenchments

Retrenchments are looming in the home loan departments of two of the four major banks, according to Business Report on Thursday.

Chief executive of First National Bank (FNB) Home Loans Jan Kleynhans confirmed that the bank was restructuring its sales department.

"At the moment we have just taken the first steps by advising [about] 90 people who may be affected. FNB Home Loans has nearly 1 000 employees.

Saturday Open Thread: Double Dip Recession?

The markets got killed this week and S&P just downgraded the US bond rating.

Is the double dip recession here?

Rent Vs Buy - Mututal Heights: R1 500 rent on a R1.4m apartment. Crazy pills!

An anonymous user on this post sent us a link to this listing for a 2 bedroomed apartment in Mutual Heights on the market for R 1 395 000. Rates and levies are R2 520/month, transfer costs are approximately R50 000.

And it's tenanted at R4 000/month. Till April 2012. Which means after expenses (but excluding maintenance) you'll be making R1 480/month. As the submitter said "I feel like I am taking crazy pills!". The difference between the rental and the bond is R11 000/month!! You're going to need a whopping 88% downpayment to have positive cashflow!

Do you even need to see the cashflow yield graph?

Down Payment	Monthly Payment	Cash Flow	Annual Income	ROI	Cap. Appr. Required
R0	R12551.18	R-11071.18	R-132854.13		9.52%
R139500	R11296.06	R-9816.06	R-117792.71	-84.44%	8.44%
R279000	R10040.94	R-8560.94	R-102731.30	-36.82%	7.36%
R418500	R8785.82	R-7305.82	R-87669.89	-20.95%	6.28%
R558000	R7530.71	R-6050.71	R-72608.48	-13.01%	5.20%
R697500	R6275.59	R-4795.59	R-57547.06	-8.25%	4.13%
R837000	R5020.47	R-3540.47	R-42485.65	-5.08%	3.05%
R976500	R3765.35	R-2285.35	R-27424.24	-2.81%	1.97%
R1116000	R2510.24	R-1030.24	R-12362.83	-1.11%	0.89%
R1255500	R1255.12	R224.88	R2698.59	0.21%	-0.19%
R1395000	R-0.00	R1480.00	R17760.00	1.27%	-1.27%

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread

IOL: Property Slump Hits City Centre

Property slump hits Cape Town city centre

Some choice quotes:

The slump has hit investors who bought in the CBD during the property boom and are now being forced to sell their apartments for less than what they paid for them. Some homeowners are losing hundreds of thousands of rand.

This comes as Eurocape, owner of Mandela Rhodes Place and the Taj Hotel, readies itself to release apartments it has held back for years.

...

A Johannesburg resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said his studio flat in Mandela Rhodes Place had been on the market for three years.

He bought the property a few years ago for just over R1.1m, R220 000 less than what the original owner paid for it.

"The market is shocking. This property's moved from one high-profile estate agent to the next and it's still not sold," he said. "Now all I want is what I paid for it."

Remax City Bowl estate agent Henry Voss said he has had to slash the prices of a host of apartments in the CBD, with the new buyers paying "considerably less".

...

Another Remax agent, Steven Delit, said many of the new developments in the CBD "didn't live up to the sizzle".

"A lot of them were set up as tourist hotels and the returns have been dreadful.

"Occupancy rates are low across the board right now, and developments like The Icon are not achieving near what buyers were told they would get," he said.

Sunday Open Thread

It's the Sunday Open Thread

Property Developer Auctioning Own Penthouse

Barry Levin, well known property developer, is auctioning off his massive (1400m2) penthouse on top of Two Oceans in Mouille Point tomorrow (Friday 22nd July). The reserve price is rumoured to be north of R40 million.

Why is such a property being sold on relatively short notice (I first heard of it 2 weeks ago) via auction?

Saturday Open Thread

It's the (barely) Saturday Open Thread.

High Rise And High Levies: R70 000/year Incinerated

Here's a 3 bed apartment on sale in Mutual Heights for a hair under R3 million. It's pretty big (244 m2) but the levies and rates would make you think it was even bigger.

If you buy this place be prepared to pay rates of R1 600 and levies of R4 376 for a combined outlay of R5 976. That's over R70 000 a year that disappears into the air. You'll need at least 2% capital appreciation just to break even on that!

Saturday Open Thread: FNB - 'It's not getting better'

Welcome to the Saturday Open Thread. This weeks topic starter from FNB:

With houses turning in sub-inflation growth, sellers should look at pricing their houses more realistically, while buyers are becoming increasingly more professional in their buying decisions.

Current high debt to disposable income levels place owners under pressure to service their mortgage obligations. The sector will remain stressed and the need to downscale will continue, especially where we have seen income and job losses.

Ballinrobe: Still Selling or Buyers Bailing?

Reader JP writes:

It's been a year since it's been completed but the Ballinrobe is still trying to sell all it's units. Either that or the people who bought off plan are bailing. Which is worse?

Saturday Open Thread

I'm drowning my sorrows after the rugby. Today's topic: How far are you prepared to commute every day?

Is The Grass Always Greener?

I received the following email:

This is the time to get out of property investment in South Africa, rather invest in Australia where there is a continious growth in property prices.

House Price Growh March 2010 - March 2011
Sydney: 0.8
Melbourne: -1.1
Brisbane: -3.6
Adelaide: 0.9
Perth: -3.2
Hobart: 0.6
Darwin: 0.5
Canberra: 1.1

Not exactly scintillating growth is it? The 3 quarterly growth (Dec 2010 - Mar 2010) is decidedly worse.

Saturday Open Thread: Speculators Offloading?

Have you seen evidence of this?

Across SA, investors are moving distressed homes through the system far faster than lenders, according to Auction Alliance CEO Rael Levitt.

In areas such as Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg's West Rand and East Rand, sale-in-execution speculators are offloading properties faster than ever.

Rate Hikes Sooner Rather Than Later?

Rate increases loom as inflation quickens

South African consumer inflation accelerated more than expected in May, boosting chances the Reserve Bank might start lifting interest rates before the end of the year rather than early in 2012.

Government bond yields retreated, with the yield on the four-year issue rising to 7.49 percent from 7.445 percent prior to the release of the CPI numbers at 0800 GMT.

May inflation came in at 4.6 percent year-on-year from 4.2 percent in April, Statistics South Africa said, and also quickened to 0.5 percent month-on-month from 0.3 percent, the main drivers being accelerating food and fuel prices.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread. This week: With the market still stagnating which new developments (under construction, finished or yet to be started) are heading for the wall?

Saturday Open Thread

I'm at Newlands and onto my third lager. Chat amongst yourselves.

Auction Alliance: It's Not Going To Get Better

From Auction Alliances May 2011 Newsletter:

As yet, there has been little recovery within the housing market in 2011, with a decline in house price growth in real terms.

According to First National Bank, if one adjusts the average house price index with the Consumer Price Index, the April real house price growth rate remained negative to the tune of -2.4%, (CPI 4.2%).

Looking forward, if the residential market cannot achieve substantial house price growth after such a huge interest rate stimulus, a period of house price decline would be the likely outcome of a possible phase of interest rate hiking, or of slowing economic growth, or both.

Agency Shenanigans in Hout Bay

From the Sunday Times:

Facebook entries claimed Perkins took sensitive data from Anne Porter.

"This is correct," said Porter. "Debbie Perkins did steal the database from Anne Porter Properties' Hout Bay office and installed it on a Lola Kramer Properties computer. On March 15, we obtained an Anton Piller order from the High Court in Cape Town to search the Lola Kramer Properties premises. The data was found during this search and deleted. The matter has been settled out of court."

Lola Kramer, however, hit back, saying Perkins was taught to manipulate the copyright of digital showhouse pictures while employed by Anne Porter.

"The dispute between the two companies has been settled, with no damages claimed," she said.

Meow!

Saturday Open Thread: Taxes

Reader WJ asks:

I'm interested to know what has been the tax effect in erroding wealth.

We seem to be taxed left right and centre these days. From personal income tax eroding how much you earn, to VAT increasing how much you spend. Not to mention transfer tax, capital gains, sin tax, etc. Was this the same in our parent's generation? Has it been adding to the fact that most people in our generation, earning a good salary, can't afford houses?

Saturday Open Thread - IRT Effect?

It's the Saturday open thread. This week: 'Will the IRT (Integrated Rapid Transport) System currently being rolled out affect the property markets it services?'

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread! This weeks topic: Gentrification: Where is it happening? Good or bad?

High Rise And High Levies: R60 000/year Evaporated

Here's a nice looking 210m2 loft in Cape Town on the market for R2.2m. Now on a R/m2 basis that isn't too bad (+- R10 000/m2), although it only has 1 bedroom in that 210m2 space...

What is bad though is the massive R5 100/month combined rates and levies (Rates: R2500, Levies: R2600). That's over R60 000/year that you will never see again.

Over 3% in capital appreciation is required every year just to make back the money spent on rates and levies.

The Orangerie: If You Enjoy Losing R18 000/month

Reader DM sent us a link to a 2 bed apartment for sale at The Orangerie (how we missed you!). Here's the text of the ad:

The best of the best
What better place to live! tenanted until 31st December 2010 @ R8,000 p/m.

And the asking price? Only R2 850 000. Which means a 100% bond would require a monthly bond payment of R25 642/month.

So you can rent for R8 000/month or pay R25 642/month to own. To put that in perspective to get your bond payment down to the same level as the rent you would need to a down payment of around R2 million.

Anyway if you're buying for investment this is a terrible option (unless you enjoy losing R18 000/month), you don't need me to tell you that but here's the yield/cashflow graph anyway:

Down Payment	Monthly Payment	Cash Flow	Annual Income	ROI	Cap. Appr. Required
R0	R25642.19	R-17642.19	R-211706.28		7.43%
R285000	R23077.97	R-15077.97	R-180935.65	-63.49%	6.35%
R570000	R20513.75	R-12513.75	R-150165.02	-26.34%	5.27%
R855000	R17949.53	R-9949.53	R-119394.39	-13.96%	4.19%
R1140000	R15385.31	R-7385.31	R-88623.77	-7.77%	3.11%
R1425000	R12821.09	R-4821.09	R-57853.14	-4.06%	2.03%
R1710000	R10256.88	R-2256.88	R-27082.51	-1.58%	0.95%
R1995000	R7692.66	R307.34	R3688.12	0.18%	-0.13%
R2280000	R5128.44	R2871.56	R34458.74	1.51%	-1.21%
R2565000	R2564.22	R5435.78	R65229.37	2.54%	-2.29%
R2850000	R-0.00	R8000.00	R96000.00	3.37%	-3.37%

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread.

Saturday Open Thread

It's Saturday! Go Stormers!

High Rise And High Levies

Here's a 104m2 2 bed apartment in the CBD on the market for a hair under R2m. Now you can probably negotiate the price down but what you can't negotiate down is the rates of R893/month and levies of R3285/month.

That's an eye watering R4 178/month! Over R50 000/year! More than 2.5% of the current asking value of the property evaporated every year.

Lord help you if they ever need to put in a special levy for urgent repairs.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread: Anything Goes Edition

Saturday Open Thread - Winter's Coming

It's the Saturday open thread. Now that winter is creeping into Cape Town, what role do the seasons play in the ability to sell a house?

Sunday Times Still Claims Sol Kerzner Staged One&Only Sale

Back in June 2009 I reported that despite claiming 1 of the 3 penthouses had been sold at the One&Only V&A Waterfront for a record breaking R110 million, all three were seemingly still on sale.

The Sunday Times then reported in August of that year that in fact the sale had seemingly been staged by Sol Kerzner to himself. This was vigorously denied by the agents involved (Seeff Atlantic Seaboard) with many a disapproving harumph.

On Sunday The Sunday Times ran an article about a property under construction that will supposedly eclipse that record price and they started that article with:

Hotel magnate Sol Kerzner, who co-owns the country's most expensive home, is about to lose his bragging rights.

An double-storey mansion still under construction is on the market for R110-million - and the developers are entertaining offers from five international jet-set celebrities.

Kerzner bought his 800m² duplex apartment, which runs across the top two floors of the One&Only hotel in Cape Town's V&A Waterfront, for a record R109-million in 2008.

So they seem to be confidently stating that Kerzner was in fact the buyer, or at least the co-buyer. I'll consider that case closed.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the saturday open thread. This weeks topic - "Long Term Apartment Living - Yea or Nay?"

Not Selling? Drop The Price 1.5%!

Just got this in my email for this apartment:

Price Reduced by R 15 000 to R 935 000

I'm sure that 1.57% drop in asking price will really change peoples minds....

Update: And another - "Price Reduced by R 14 000 to R 985 000"

What's that.. 1.4% off? Be still my beating heart!

Sunday Open Thread

Just woke up from my Stormers-loss induced hangover. This is the Sunday Open Thread...

Ugliest House in Cape Town Still For Sale - Less R5 Million

The ugliest house in Cape Town is still for sale at R9 995 000. That's a R4 550 000 drop in price from R14 500 000 asking in April 2010. With that saved five bar you can buy yourself some taste.

PIC Syndications Looking Wobbly

After the pawpaw hit the fan with Sharemax it now looks like PIC Syndications is going the same way:

Property mogul Nic Georgiou has walked away from "guarantees" he supposedly made to thousands of investors in PIC Syndications.

For some time PIC Syndications, led by its apparent owner and CEO, Rikus Myburgh, and joint MDs, Ben van der Linde and Morkel Steyn, has been selling shares to investors with the assurance that their income and capital were "guaranteed".

Realestateweb and others have questioned this supposed guarantee, which was backed by Georgiou and his associated entities. We noted that while Georgiou appeared to be a wealthy businessman, his financial affairs are not open to public scrutiny. It was simply impossible for investors or their financial advisers to determine his net wealth - for all they knew, Georgiou could be mired in debt.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread. This weeks topic: If you are buying now, what discount off the asking price should you be aiming for?

Sunday Open Thread

Too much sport, too many beers, too little time to post an open thread.

Saturday Open Thread - Stormers Vs Bulls

It's the Saturday Open thread. Here We Go Stormers!

Saturday Open Thread: SA Vs Inida Edition

It's the Saturday Open thread, but instead you should really be watching the cricket.

Rent Vs Buy: City Bowl - R1 000 000 Invested = 0% Return

Here's a 3 bedroomed 119m2 apartment in the City Bowl on sale for R2 100 000. That means with a 100% bond you can expect to pay R18 884/month.

It also rents for R9 500/month which also means you can expect to lose at least R9 394/month covering the difference between the rent and the bond payment. Take into account rates, levies and maintenance and you're probably losing well over R10 000 a month.

Let's take a look at the yield and payment graph and table:

Down Payment	Monthly Payment	Cash Flow	Annual Income	ROI	Cap. Appr. Required
R0	R18894.25	R-9394.25	R-112730.94		5.37%
R210000	R17004.82	R-7504.82	R-90057.85	-42.88%	4.29%
R420000	R15115.40	R-5615.40	R-67384.75	-16.04%	3.21%
R630000	R13225.97	R-3725.97	R-44711.66	-7.10%	2.13%
R840000	R11336.55	R-1836.55	R-22038.56	-2.62%	1.05%
R1050000	R9447.12	R52.88	R634.53	0.06%	-0.03%
R1260000	R7557.70	R1942.30	R23307.62	1.85%	-1.11%
R1470000	R5668.27	R3831.73	R45980.72	3.13%	-2.19%
R1680000	R3778.85	R5721.15	R68653.81	4.09%	-3.27%
R1890000	R1889.42	R7610.58	R91326.91	4.83%	-4.35%
R2100000	R-0.00	R9500.00	R114000.00	5.43%	-5.43%

Unless you put down at least a cool million you aren't breaking even on cash flow and paying in cash gets you 5.43% ROI. And that's before expenses are taken into account.

House Price Bubbles: Reality & Theory

Picture from House Price South Africa.

I've disabled comments here, click here to comment on House Price South Africa.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread. This week's topic (not that you people ever follow it) is the 'renovation premium'.

Given a renovation that cost X how much more than X should you be expected to pay when buying a property that has been renovated by the previous owner.

Dear Agents: Please Try Harder - Show Houses

Reader KS writes:

Agents want to know why things aren't selling? Perhaps they should look at the effort they put into show houses. Supposedly it's the best way to sell a house but of the 4 show houses I went to on Sunday, 3 were staffed by house "sitters" who had no knowledge about the place. This was a typical conversation:

Me: How many metres under the roof
Sitter: Shoo... not sure... going to have to ask the agent cos he said the pamphlet was wrong...
Me: When was the kitchen renovated?
Sitter: Ja I don't know...
Me: How long has this been on the market?
Sitter: Can't say..
Me: Is there plumbing for a downstairs bathroom?
Sitter: *silence*

Agents, if you want to sell, then get off your asses and start sitting in show houses or at least put knowledgeable people in there not brain dead idiots. I don't have the time to come back during the week just to get answers. To quote Glengarryglenross: First prize is a cadillac, second prize is a set of steak knives, third prize is you're fired.

KS sent me a link to where that quote is from. Estate Agents should be watching it every day to pump themselves up.

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Satuday Open Thread!

Green Point: Asking Price Down R480 000

Back in Feb 2010 a 62m2 apartment in one77 Green Point had an asking price of R1 900 000. A year later a 61m2 apartment in the same block has an asking price of R1 420 000. That's nearly R500 000 down in asking price.

Saturday Open Thread - The Repo Rate: Going Up?

It's the Saturday Open Thread. This weeks topic: Interest Rates - Stable for 2011 or will we see a bump up in the Repo Rate before the end of the year?

Saturday Open Thread: Property Disasters

It's the Saturday Open Thread. This week's topic starter: Property Disasters - What do you know out there that have been utter real estate disasters. My contribution is Senator Park which still requires an armed guard when the landlords collect the rent.

Brooklyn: The Palms - Specuvestors Hoooooo!

Palm Springs is a newish development that was unfortunately built in Brooklyn. There are 354 units and of those 146 belong to a Trust, CC or (Pty) Ltd. Can you say 'specuvestor heaven'?

Reader JT writes:

Bought a unit here in 2008 to let it sleep for a few years for about R 450 000

Initial levy payable to Permanent Trust has now been increased by 50% from R 300 to R 502.

Reason for this is that they never accounted for the behaviour of the low budget/illegal immigrant/5 people in a single room scenario – not to mention the gym equipment being vandalised and communal areas falling apart.

I currently let my unit out for R 3200 a month

It was a bad choice as an investment – time will tell if it works out

So bought for R450 00 and currently reanting for R3 200 gross, with levies includes it's R2 700/month net.



If you bought it for cash you're earning 7% return. If you didn't put at least R150 000 down (that's a 33% deposit) you're losing money and judging by the way the levies are going up, will continue to lose money for a while.

However there seems to be a slight problem with the rates accounts. JT continues:

Turns out the developer never properly registered the units in individuals names – so the R 4000 in rates that I paid up to Feb last year to what I was told was my account is now frozen and I have to prove that I paid it.

I apparently have a new account that is in debt to the tune of R 4500 – but I have still to receive a rates statement.

Just a little legal note, if rates are not up to date the council will not issue a rates clearance certificate and no sale can proceed. If you need to sell you're going to have to get the bottom of that rates story.

Saturday Open Thread: Estate Agents

It's the Saturday Open Thead. This week's topic: "Estate Agents? Yeah! or Meh."

Vredehoek: Not Selling? Time To Raise The Price!

Reader KS writes:

This apartment has been on the market for at least a year at R1495000. Now it's asking price is R1535000. I guess when things aren't selling the logical plan of action is to raise the price R40 Gs.

Me thinks someone is trying to recoup some bond payments...

Saturday Open Thread - Other Cities

It's the Saturday open thread. This week's topic: What's happening in other cities? We're CT focused but if you're a reader in Jozi/Durbs/Bloom/PE let us know what's up!

Dear Agents: Please Try Harder - Woodstock

Modern Townhouse - Brand New

And from the ad:

BRAND NEW! Never been on the market.

Maybe it's never been on the market before because it hasn't been completed yet!

A New Blog To Follow

House Price South Africa

Some great graphs and insights on property and population growth.

Orangerie: You Just Lost A LOT Of Money

Back in 2008 you could buy off plan a 2 bed/2 bath 120m2 duplex at The Orangerie for between R3 100 000 and R3 500 000. Today you can pick one up for R2 650 000.

That's at least a R400 000 drop in capital value not to mention the potentially hundreds of thousands of Rands in bond payments.

And the scary thing is a couple months ago a similar unit was on the market for R2 300 000!

Update: A reader just sent me a link to the latest (dated 3 Jan 2011) price list for the Orangerie

Here's how the prices compare:

Unit	Initial Price	Jan 2011 Price
AG 3	R3,31,2000	R2,850,000
AG 9	R3,445,000	R2,850,000
AG 10	R3,275,000	R2,850,000
BG 3	R3,289,000	R2,850,000
BG 4	R3,312,000	R2,850,000
BG 13	R3,346,000	R2,850,000

If you bought off plan back in 2008 I hope you negotiated your purchase price down. Waaaaay down. Also good luck selling your unit in the near future while it competes with unsold developer stock.

Saturday Open Thread: Marcus Holds Repo Rate Steady

It's the Saturday open thread. This week's topic - The Reserve Bank held the repo rate steady. How long will they do so?

Saturday Open Thread: Asking Price Drops

This is the Saturday Open Thread! This weeks topic: After yesterdays R40m to R23m price drop post what's the biggest asking price drop you've seen?

For us it was this post when we saw an asking price drop R800 000 from R3.7m to R2.9m.

Biggest Asking Drop Ever?

REDUCED FROM R40M TO R 23,5M TO SELL IMMEDIATELY

That is if you believed it was worth 40 bar in the first place.

But if it's true... R17m off? 42% of the asking price? Yikes!

Saturday Open Thread

It's the Saturday Open Thread!

Saturday Open Thread: Nuwe Jaar!

It's the first open thread for 2011. Predictions anyone?