Die toekoms van eiendomsreg in Suid-Afrika is in gedrang

Dit was die mening van verskeie kenners wat vandag aan die AfriSake Eiendomsregkonferensie deelgeneem het. AfriSake het tydens die konferensie ‘n verslag bekendgestel wat 14 verskillende wetsontwerpe, beleide en regsprake uitwys wat ten doel het om eiendomsreg drasties in te perk, af te takel of selfs te vernietig.

Volgens AfriSake se uitvoerende hoof, Cornelius Jansen van Rensburg, toon die verslag dat die ANC-regering beplan om hul onteieningsbeloftes gestand te doen. Die verslag wys daarop dat die regering se herverdelingsbeleid nie slegs op landbougrond gemik is nie maar alle eiendom in die staat se visier plaas. “Hierdie wette is juis so geformuleer dat dit ‘n regsraamwerk skep wat uiteindelik op alle soort eiendom van toepassing gemaak kan word,” het Jansen van Rensburg gesê.

Die strategie is om eiendomsreg stelselmatig af te takel: Die staat beperk eers eiendomsreg deur fyn beplande wetgewing, en neem dan de facto-beheer oor eiendom wanneer dit te laat is om iets daaraan te doen.

Kenners wat aan die konferensie deelgeneem het, sluit in die Russiese ekonoom prof. Yuri Maltsev, ekonoom Dawie Roodt, dr. Anthea Jeffery van die Instituut vir Rasseverhoudinge, die uitvoerende hoof van die vryemarkstigting, Leon Louw, regskenner Willie Spies, en Piet le Roux van die Solidariteit Navorsingsinstituut. Alle deelnemers het die inhoud van die verslag onderskryf en was van mening dat daar ernstige rede tot kommer bestaan oor die toekoms van eiendomsreg in Suid-Afrika.

Ten einde die dreigende eiendomsregkrisis af te weer, het AfriSake ‘n vyfpuntplan bekend gestel. Dit sluit kortliks die volgende stappe in:

1. Legitieme en ordelike grondherstel vir individue wat hul eiendomsreg in die verlede verloor het, moet plaasvind, maar op so ‘n wyse dat bestaande eienaars nie hul regte verloor nie.

2. Herverdeling as regeringsdenkraamwerk moet bevraagteken word. Herverdeling word toenemend in verband gebring met ANC-nepotisme, swak dienslewering en korrupsie.

3. Regsaksies moet van stapel gestuur word om die regsbeginsels van eiendomsreg te beskerm.

4. Verskansing van persoonlike bates teen moontlike staatsvergrype moet plaasvind.

5. Politieke en ekonomiese druk moet op Internasionale vlak uitgeoefen word.

“Eiendomsreg is die hoeksteen van ‘n gesonde en groeiende ekonomie. Daarsonder kan Suid-Afrika se mense nie uit die moeras van armoede en werkloosheid gelig word nie”, het Jansen van Rensburg gesê.
Uiteindelik sal eiendomsreg nie deur die politici alleenlik beslis word nie, maar deur landsburgers. Aktiewe en georganiseerde burgerlike instellings het ‘n belangrike rol om te speel deur gemeenskappe te mobiliseer ten behoewe van eiendomsreg, het Jansen van Rensburg gesê

Gepubliseer in Suid-Afrika | Sleutelwoorde AfriSake, eiendomsreg, Onteiening

Agents’ qualifications raise the bar

Those who a few years from now look back on what the South African residential property marketing sector has undergone in recent years will have to accept, firstly, that a radical transformation has taken place in estate agents’ education and, secondly, that this has upped the professionalism and self-respect of agents to a greater degree than any other single factor.

It has been gratifying to many estate agentsat last to be able to see themselves as possessing recognised qualifications.

This is according to Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, who says estate agents are traditionally proactive, go-getting people primarily interested in achieving sales and therefore likely to be averse to studying. However, that has now changed.

“When I visit show houses at weekends I often find agents studying up their next week’s lessons in between serving clients. It seems to me that they are proud that they are now acquiring a professional qualification on the same lines as financial advisers, asset managers and even lawyers for whom postgraduate education is becoming more and more important. It has been gratifying to many estate agents at last to be able to see themselves as possessing recognised qualifications - which are not that easily come by and which take a year to achieve,” says Rawson.

The Estate Agency Affairs Board’s insistence that agents qualify has been one of the reasons why their numbers have dropped so radically – in fact by roughly 65 percent - but this too has worked in their favour as they are now more and more seen by the public as members of a small, more elite group.

He warns, however, that while the new qualifications undoubtedly raise the intellectual and general knowledge standards of agents, they do not guarantee that the agent will pick up a true service mentality.

“Estate agents are one of the few groups of people whose earnings are entirely result-orientated. They are not paid for the copious advice they are expected to give – even their valuations are free, although in many cases these may have involved hours of research and investigation, furthermore they are often exploited by clients. It is, therefore, understandable (although not acceptable) that many agents tend to give a far higher level of service and commitment to those clients whose properties are likely to sell fast, or who have given the agent a sole mandate at a satisfactory commission,” says Rawson.

This focus on good prospects is most obvious when it comes to feedback and maintaining contact several times a week which is essential even though the agent may have no news. A “too busy”, entirely results-orientated agent can on occasions avoid contact with his client for days, even weeks.

He says in these circumstances, it is vitally important for the in-house training systems of the major estate agency groups to continue to focus on service to all clients, irrespective of the prospects - and it is a fact that when such an outlook is fostered it always works in the long run to the agent’s benefit.

“If there is one thing clients appreciate, it is an agent who cares and who keeps in contact at all times.”

Property 24 News

SA estate agent commission - too high?

South African estate agents have been asked why they feel justified in charging commission at a ‘high’ level – this question is often backed by the statement that UK and European estate agents work on far lower commissions. 

It has to be remembered that if an agent is good at securing for themselves and their superiors a satisfactory commission, they will probably also have the negotiating ability to secure a good sale price for their client, the seller.  

This is according to Bill Rawson, Chairman of the Rawson Property Group, who says the first point to be clarified on this subject is that the service provided by South African estate agents is far more comprehensive and thorough than that of overseas agents working on two or three percent commissions.

He says quite often, such overseas agents do not even accompany the buyer to the property for sale – they simply hand over a set of keys or arrange a date for them to meet the seller. He says then, too, they may place minimal or no advertising, and insist that the seller funds it all. He says this is a common practice, even among the most reputable, high profile UK companies.

Rawson says the plain truth is that the level of service given will depend on the fees charged.

“Estate agents are in one of the few careers where the payment depends almost entirely on the results they achieve. It is simply not possible to give the sort of service South African agents are committed to unless they can charge at the accepted rates prevailing today.”

He says the complaint about high charges is inclined to crop up most frequently when a home is sold quickly and with little apparent effort.

While it is completely understandable that the seller feels overcharged on such occasions, Rawson says it has to be recognised that:

1. The sale may well have come about because the agency group to which the agent belongs has invested heavily in branding, advertising and IT communications, particularly websites, to achieve a high profile and a large measure of public trust.

2. The group, if it is at all reputable, will also have invested heavily in ongoing training, thereby giving its agents the skill to market homes competently and to steer away from the many legal and accounting pitfalls that can so easily occur when an untrained agent handles a sale contract.

3. The franchisee himself will be carrying the high upfront costs of buying or renting premises and telephones for his agents and adapting these so that they become congenial work areas.

4. All homes do not sell fast and some do not sell at all, and every marketing group’s fee structure has to take this into account.

5. The agent’s personal costs are also extremely high. He has to own and run a car, laptop, camera and a cell phone and quite possibly has to fund additional advertising to get his own name better known. As mentioned, agents seldom receive retainers – they have to live off their share of the commission they earn for their franchisees and they can go through lean periods in which they earn nothing at all.

Rawson says at the Rawson Property Group, the majority of franchises are charging high standard commissions in all price categories (not just upper end homes) and these are accepted by the clients because the standard of service is generally agreed to be excellent.

He says one cannot emphasise too often that selling so valuable and cherished an asset as a home can be highly stressful. He says the agent’s task is to reduce the stress to a minimum, while at the same time achieving the best price the market can deliver.

Rawson says commissions are often negotiable, but clients should not resent it if their agent proves to be a tough negotiator.

He says it has to be remembered that if an agent is good at securing for themselves and their superiors a satisfactory commission, they will probably also have the negotiating ability to secure a good sale price for their client, the seller.  

Taken from Property 24 news.

Regmatige uitsettings: Die feite

Regmatige uitsettings: Die feite

1st posted on  25 July 2013 on legal newsletters, re-posted today by J Coetzee

Behuising is noodsaaklik en `n primêre behoefte vir elke mens. Aangesien meeste van ons akkomodasie
bekom deur te huur of deur huislenings of selfs deur staatsbehuising wat deur munisipaliteite voorsien
word, is dit belangrik om te weet wat jou regte is en wat die korrekte prosedure is as dit kom by regmatige
uitsettings.
Met die uitsluiting van plaasgrond, word regmatige uitsettings van residensiële persele, geboue of strukture
daarop, wat enige hut, plakkershut, tent of soortgelyke struktuur of enige ander vorm van tydelike of 
permanente woning of beskutting insluit, deur die Wet op die Voorkoming van Onwettige Uitsetting en 
Onregmatige Besetting van Grond 19 van 1998, algemeen bekend as die “PIE Wet”.

Wie het die reg om uit te sit?
Die reg om uit te sit in terme van die PIE Wet word gegee aan `n geregistreerde eienaar van `n perseelof aan `n persoon in beheer van die betrokke residensiële perseel. Persone in beheer van `n residensiële
perseel sluit in:

• `n Regmatige huurder
• `n Eksekuteur wat die boedel waarin die perseel val administreer
• Enige ander agent wat volgens die regmatige instruksies van die eienaar optree

Wie kan uitgesit word?
Mense wat uitgesit kan word sluit die volgende mense wat in okkupasie van die perseel bly, in:

• Huurders in verstek wie se huurooreenkomste getermineer is
• Verbandgewers in verstek wie se verbande gekanselleer en die eiendom in eksekusie verkoop is
• Onregmatige okkupeerders of plakkers
• Enige ander persoon wat nie die uitdruklike toestemming van die eienaar of persoon in regmatige

 beheer van die perseel het nie

Wat is die spesiale oorwegings?
Wanneer ons howe met aansoeke om uitsetting te doen kry is die howe verplig om spesiale oorweging

 te skenk aan bejaardes, kinders, mense met gestremdhede en ook huishoudings onder leiding

van vroue. Alle feite en omstandighede van hierdie persone moet aan die hof uitgelig word vir die evaluasie

van die sogenoemde spesiale oorwegings.

Regmatige uitsettingsprosedure:
Stap 1 – Kennis van uitsetting
`n Kennis van uitsetting waarsku die okkupeerder van die beoogde uitsetting en voorsien gewoonlik die

okkupeerder van 30 dae om te perseel te ontruim. Dit gee ook aan die partye die geleentheid om 

skikkingsterme of terme en tydsraamwerke vir die ontruiming van die perseel te onderhandel. Hierdie

kennis kan deur die Balju van die Hof per hand by die perseel of deur middel van geregistreerde pos beteken

word.
Stap 2 – Hofaansoek om uitsetting
`n Hofaansoek by wyse van `n kennisgewing van mosie tesame met `n ondersteunende beëdigde verklaring

moet deur die Balju op die okkupeerder en die relevante munisipaliteit beteken word. Dit sal die datum

van die hofverskyning asook die datum waarop die okkupeerder opponerende hofdokumente moet liaseer

indien die okkupeerder van plan is om die aansoek om uitsetting teen te staan, aandui. Die okkupeerder

moet die hofaansoek ten minste 14 dae voor die hofdatum ontvang.
Stap 3 – Verskyning in die hof vir die aanhoor van die aansoek om uitsetting
`n Hof is verplig om alle relevante feite rakende die aansoek om uitsetting op die bepaalde datum van

die verhoor te oorweeg. Regsverteenwoordigers van die partye sal `n geleentheid gegun word om 

mondelinge en geskrewe regsargumente namens die onderskeie partye aan te voer. Die hof sal dan,

by wyse van `n hofbevel indien die aansoek suksesvol is, die okkupeerder genoegsame tyd gee om die

perseel te ontruim wat gewoonlik tot 1 maand sal wees met die bepaling dat indien die okkupeerder

versuim om in hierdie tyd te ontruim die Balju geregtig sal wees om, op die onkoste van die okkupeerder,

die okkupeerder en al sy besittings van die perseel te verwyder.
Stap 4 – Gedwonge uitsetting van die okkupeerder deur die Balju
Die Balju sal eers `n kopie van die Uitsettingsbevel op die okkupeerders beteken. Dan sal die Balju

geregtig wees om die okkupeerders met mag te verwyder indien die datum van ontruiming soos deur 

die hof bepaal, verby is. Die Balju is ook geregtig om die bystand van die polisie, indien nodig, te vekry

en mag ook die besittings van die okkupeerders verwyder asook enige opgerigte strukture sloop. Die

Balju kan tot 3 weke neem om uitvoering aan die Uitsettingsbevel te gee nadat die nodige reëlings

getref is om die okkupeerders uit te sit.

Gevolgtrekking
Regmatige uitsettings kan 2 tot 3 maande neem om af te handel en kan baie tegnies van aard en

duur word. `n Verhuurder, eienaar of persoon in beheer wat iemand wil uitsit asook `n huurder

of okkupeerder teen wie uitsettingsposedures aanhangig gemaak is word beide aangeraai om

regsadvies van `n prokureur wat in uitsettings spesialieer te bekom ten einde te verseker dat die 

uitsettingsproses regmatig en korrek uitgevoer word. Deur die regte uitsettingsprosedure te volg

word frustrasie, kostes en verdere potensiële verliese geminimaliseer en vermy dit die behoefte

aan optrede soos om slotte te verander, water en ligte te ontkoppel of selfs intimiderende optrede

van, wat opsigself regsaksie tot gevolg kan hê.

Home loans, prices and price inflation

An increase in the banks’ risk appetite in the form of greater willingness to provide higher Loan-to-Value (LTV) bonds might increase the house price inflation outlook for 2014, according to Lightstone.

An increase in the banks’ risk appetite in the form of greater willingness to provide higher Loan-to-Value (LTV) bonds might increase the house price inflation outlook for 2014, according to Lightstone.

Paul-Roux de Kock of Lightstone explains that not only do banks determine the risk premium charged on potential property buyers, they also determine the maximum loan amount a buyer qualifies for.

If this loan ceiling is below the property seller’s asking price the potential buyer will have to cover the remainder with a deposit, he says.

Furthermore, he points out that loan amount granted relative to the transaction price of the property is referred to as the “Loan-to-Value” (LTV) of the transaction.

During the housing boom it was not uncommon for mortgage applicants to receive mortgage loans with a value equal to, or larger than the property’s purchase price.

Therefore, 21.6 percent of housing applicants received a loan of less than the purchase price of the property between 2005 and 2008, however, this value increased to 46 percent during the housing crash and has remained between 39 percent and 42 percent since 2009, according to De Kock.

“Potential increases in the number of property sales will have to be largely financed by banks which are still less likely to cover higher LTVs to the same extent as they did before 2008.”

 This means that in the absence of increased risk appetite by banks, we expect the amount of buyers to remain at similar levels to 2013 and therefore don’t expect increased market activity to drive up house price inflation, he notes.

De Kock points out that while interest rates and economic growth are key drivers of house price inflation, it is the effect on bonds and total housing transactions that should be studied carefully.

“The demand for housing in general, especially for first-time homeowners, is to a greater extent influenced by the banks’ willingness to provide loans.”

Lightstone data shows that the total number of housing transactions and mortgage bonds issued annually has remained fairly constant over the past three years at 235 000 and 122 500 respectively, while the total Rand value of transactions and bonds has, however, increased by roughly 24 percent over the same period.

“This is substantially higher than the 15 percent average growth recorded in house prices and this is due to the bigger impact of high value property transactions that take place in luxury markets where house price inflation was more subdued.”

FNB says the latest increase in interest rate has a positive side to it in the sense that it will probably curb any possibility of short-term speculative behaviour mounting.

Assuming banks’ lending strategies don’t tighten significantly over the next year, De Kock says they expect the total transaction value and value of newly issued bonds to hold this trend.

According to ooba data, property prices and bond sizes showed steady growth in January with the Average Purchase Price recording R956 112, up 6.9 percent y/y and 2.4 percent month-on-month, while the Average Approved Bond was R801 391, 5.4 percent higher y/y and 0.9 percent higher month-on-month.

The originator’s rate for January of 68.7 percent, showed a significant increase on December’s approval rate of 65.2 percent and January 2013’s rate of 65.7 percent.

Rhys Dyer, ooba chief executive officer, says January also showed strong activity in the first-time buyers' segment, with the First-time Buyers’ Purchase Price showing y/y appreciation of 9.9 percent and month-on-month appreciation of 6.4 percent at R754 487.

The Average Approved Bond Size for First-time Buyers was R650 000, and of ooba’s total applications in January, 52.5 percent were from first-time buyers.

“As the market improves, and banks ease their lending criteria, it is making it easier for first-time buyers to enter the market,” says Dyer.

House price growth and price inflation

Nominal year-on-year (y/y) growth in the average value of homes in the middle segment of theSouth African housing market remained in single digits in the first month of 2014 after tapering off during most of last year on the back of trends in the economy, household finances and consumer confidence.

Jacques du Toit, Absa Home Loans property analyst, explains that the average nominal y/y price growth of small homes in January was R764 000, R1 104 million for medium-sized homes and R1 710 million for large homes.

“Against the background of these developments, consumer confidence remains low, contributing to pressure on household consumption growth and the demand for credit.”

Absa expects nominal house price growth to remain in single-digits in 2014 while real house price deflation is projected for this year, based on the combined effect of expected trends nominal price growth and inflation.

Meanwhile, Lightstone data reveals that total y/y national house price growth was 7.4 percent at the end of December 2013 which was 0.15 percent above Lightstone’s optimistic forecast for last year.

Lightstone forecast for residential property price inflation for 2014 is slightly lower at 6.7 percent, and unless market conditions change dramatically, residential property price growth should close between 5.6 and 7.8 percent.

“The most likely factor that will subsidise more significant growth is an increased risk appetite from the banks – their risk appetite has remained relatively stable over the past three years but this may change as banks see signs of recovery in the economy,” says De Kock.

With just over 60 percent of the total value of new residential property transactions currently being bonded the risk appetite of banks plays a major role in the demand for formal housing and can be a big driver of house price inflation.

Therefore, 21.6 percent of housing applicants received a loan of less than the purchase price of the property between 2005 and 2008, however, this value increased to 46 percent during the housing crash and has remained between 39 percent and 42 percent since 2009, according to De Kock.

Current annual inflation rate is 6.10 percent and monthly is 0.51 percent, according to Lightstone.

Meanwhile, the FNB House Price Index shows that the average house price for January rose 7.9 percent y/y down from 8.2 percent in December with the average house price transacted at R924 261.

However, in nominal terms, the January average price was 122.5 percent higher than the January 2004 price level, but only 16.7 percent above the December 2007 level, writes FNB’s property strategist and analyst, John Loos and Theo Swanepoel.

Loos and Swanepoel explain that in a highly credit-driven market such as the residential property market, an interest rate “surprise” changes a lot.

“No longer do we expect a mild strengthening in 2014 but instead a mild slowdown in the market and while one lone interest rate hike doesn’t make a massive difference to instalment repayment values, we believe it will have a significant impact on buyer sentiment, because many aspirant buyers will know that interest rate hiking in South Africa, once it starts, normally doesn’t stop at one lone hike.”

FNB says the latest increase in interest rate has a positive side to it in the sense that it will probably curb any possibility of short-term speculative behaviour mounting.

As the hype around residential property grew in recent months, and house price growth got stronger, there was perhaps an increased risk of this unhealthy form of buying creeping into the market.

They note that the most obvious forms of demand to be constrained would be those that can be considered to be “luxury items” or non-essential purchases, such as buy-to-let property and holiday homes.

According to FNB, the primary residential demand will remain “king” and estate agents surveyed say primary residential buying remains at near 90 percent of total buying while buy-to-let, holiday property and buying residences for others, remains at around 10 percent.  

“Given that interest rate hiking introduces an increased affordability challenge, we would expect the higher end areas to be slightly more affected.”

The performance of and prospects for the residential property market will continue to be closely related to economic growth, trends in household finances, inflation, interest rates, consumer confidence and banks’ lending criteria, according to Du Toit.  

He adds that these factors will drive the affordability of housing and mortgage finance and will be reflected in property demand and supply conditions, price trends, market activity, buying patterns, transaction volumes and the demand for mortgage finance. – Denise Mhlanga

Taken from Property 24 News

Property ownership...

It has been reported by Standard Bank that, in the past two years, it has experienced 44% year on year growth in owner-occupied commercial property deals as a result of many companies have opting to purchase buildings for their own use rather than opting to renting. Read the full story in an article titled Significant upswing in Owner-Occupied Commercial Property deals.
Although much has been said about the cons of the residential property market because of the negative factors such as the difficulty in obtaining home loans, high price of construction, increasing municipality costs and the claims by economist, Erwin Rode that the property market is over-valued by 20%, Bruce Swain, MD of Leapfrog Property Group begs to differ. Continue reading this article on Investors Have Faith in Residential Property.

After we had shared the following joke on our Facebook page some time this week:"The dream of the older generation was to pay off a home loan and the dream of today's young families is to get one", it has come to our attention that actually around the world, young working people are increasingly attracted to home ownership rather than renting. But how easy is it for them to qualify for home loans? See an article titled More young guns set their sights on ownership to find out what Berry Everitt, MD of the Chas Everitt International property group says about this. 

Taken from TIVVIT newsletter.

CALLING ALL INVESTORS - Weak Rand good for luxury property

06 Feb 2014

The weak Rand is enabling South African luxury property buyers and high net worth individual investors to turn to bricks and mortar as a store of value, says Lew Geffen, chairman of Sotheby’s International Realty in SA.

Located in the lush suburb of Sandhurst inJohannesburg, this three bedroom home is selling for R10.5 million through Sotheby's International Realty Craighall. Click here to view.

Geffen explains that since the devaluation of the Argentinian peso and the Turkish lira sparked a loss of confidence in emerging markets, and a major sell-off that worsened with news of weaker Chinese manufacturing, political turmoil in Thailand and the platinum strike in SA - is likely to keep currencies like the Rand under pressure.

He says these buyers and investors know that property is much more likely to retain its value than cash in such situations and their moves to protect their assets against depreciation have added further impetus to the top end of the residential property market, which has in any case been performing well for the past year.

As an example, he says they sold a property in Sandhurst for R20 million to a Johannesburg executive and on the Atlantic Seaboard a house was sold for R50 million to a South Africa buyer.  

“At the same time, the lower Rand exchange rate has resulted in an increase in foreign buyers who are now able to acquire much more property with their dollars, euros and pounds than they could have a year ago.”

Geffen notes that the Atlantic Seaboard especially is seeing huge demand from European buyers who have already exchanged their currency and are ready to buy just about anything priced at under R5 million– which equates to about €350 000 currently.

Sotheby’s International Realty is also seeing a trend for offshore money to make its way back to SA to be invested in local property.

“This is money that local investors or expats hold in offshore accounts and which currently attracts very low rates of interest,” he says.

According to Geffen, many of these investors buying in SA currently stand to make returns of at least 6 to 10 percent, he points out that they are free to take the money out of the country again if and when they resell.

Popular choices for such investors are resort and retirement areas such as the Cape West Coast, the Garden Route and the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.

Taken from Property 24 News