Real Estate & Commercial News in South Africa from Propertyshowrooms.com

'Positive outlook' for South Africa commercial property

Mon, 6 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

There is reason to be optimistic about the future performance of commercial real estate assets in South Africa.

This is according to Malcolm Horne, chief executive officer of Broll Property Group, who is confident demand for properties to rent in the nation will pick up, thereby reducing the amount of vacant space on the market.

A yearly report published by the company predicted income from commercial properties in South Africa will rise, while capitalisation rates will become steadier.

Speaking to SA Commercial Prop News, he commented: "The South African property fundamentals remain strong, landlords and tenants have become more educated about the costs involved and the pressure is on all to find effective means to reduce operating costs."

Last month, head of capital markets at Jones Lang LaSalle South Africa Andrew Bradford asserted investors in the nation are better off purchasing existing buildings, rather than ploughing their money into new developments.

He explained expenses associated with established assets are usually considerably lower than with new builds, while there is also less hassle and more predictability over a deal's timeline when opting for finished projects.

Selling distressed property 'important for South African market recovery'

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Quickening the process of selling distressed real estate assets in South Africa is vital if the country's property market is to recover.

This is according to SA Commercial Prop News, which outlined several areas that need to improve before the real estate sector in the nation can get better.

Among them are employment growth, more support from lenders to borrowers who are struggling to pay their mortgages and an upturn in the global economy.

Commenting on the state of the South African residential real estate market, chief executive officer of Auction Alliance Rael Levitt said: "There's likely to be more pain before there are any real gains for the sector, primarily because of the giant inventory of homes on the market."

Earlier this month, chief executive officer of ooba Saul Geffen stated that it is a buyer's market in South Africa at the moment, partly because of the low interest rates in the nation.

Rental growth slows for South Africa commercial property

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Many fund managers in South Africa are struggling at present because tenants are able to negotiate rental rates down, it has been claimed.

Paul Duncan, portfolio manager of Catalyst Fund Managers, told Business Day that the South African commercial property market is likely to run into difficulties over the coming year to 18 months.

He explained that many investors have seen vacancy levels across their portfolios rise, which has allowed tenants to renegotiate contracts to pay less rent.

Mr Duncan added that although vacancy rates appear to have "troughed", there is still little new demand to help buoy the sector.

"As a result, the positive effect that vacancy reduction has on distribution growth is only expected to filter through beyond the 12 to 18-month time horizon," he stated.

In September, the SAPOA/IPD South Africa biannual property indicator revealed that returns generated by commercial property in the country "stagnated" between January and June of this year.

The organisation recorded a total return from real estate rents of 4.3 per cent, while there was no capital appreciation noted in the survey.

Business backs multibillion AmaZulu project

Wed, 5 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The KwaZulu-Natal business community has expressed its "unequivocal backing" of the AmaZulu World development proposed by the Dubai-based Ruwaad Group...

Mystery project: A threat to Durban's Point?

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Developers have rubbished opinions that the mysterious new project on the Water World site could plunge the Point into obscurity...

Australian property 'popular with South African investors'

Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A growing number of overseas property investors in South Africa are showing interest in the Australian market, according to experts.

Estate agency Pam Golding Properties stated that the country is proving to be a popular choice with prospective purchasers of real estate in South Africa, reports Cape Argus.

Simon Gibb, spokesperson for the company, said much of the interest is coming from people who plan to buy for investment purposes.

However, he stated that some enquiries are also coming from people who wish to live in Australia on a permanent basis.

Mr Gibb believes the decline in the South African currency, as well as growing political uncertainty, has fuelled the recent interest in buying abroad.

He commented: "There is a trend that when our rand is trading less favourably against the major currencies, South Africans look to move money offshore.".

Earlier this week, Paul Arthur of The Emigration Group told the Daily Star that Australia has attracted 23,906 expats from the UK in the last year.

South African expansion for AIM-listed investor

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

South African Property Opportunities (SAPRO), the AIM-listed investor, has sold its 27 acre retail element of its African Renaissance Development...

Revolving restaurant up for sale

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The Roma Revolving Restaurant, with its 360 degree view of Durban, is something of an institution...

Cableway service to last three weeks

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Visitors to Cape Town have three weeks to get to the top of Table Mountain...

Transport links set to influence SA housing market

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Increasing commuter traffic will create residential "hotspots" around South Africa's commercial and business hubs, according to a property strategist.

John Loos of First National Bank said that as more vehicles took to the roads he expected homeowners to purchase close to their places of work or key transport routes.

He told AllAfrica.com that currently 70,000 new vehicles were driving on the roads each year but he expected this to rise to a million a year within the next decade.

According to Mr Loos, three highways in particular would boost property demand and prices: the Gautrain-M1 corridor between Pretoria and Braamfontein in Gauteng, the southern suburbs corridor in Cape Town and the Umhlanga-La Lucia Ridge corridor in KwaZulu-Natal.

Locales such as Hatfield, Centurion, Midrand, Sandton, Marlboro, Rosebank and Braamfontein around the Gautrain-M1 corridor would attract property buyers, tenants and businesses, he added.

Heath Adamson, sales and marketing director of International Property Solutions, said that the South African property market was experiencing increased growth of up to 18 per cent and investors could get more for their money than in Europe.

South African office rents to grow

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Rents within the South African office sector are set to see double digit growth this year, according to one financial firm.

In its latest annual report, Vukile claimed that sustained levels of economic growth in recent months and favourable conditions within the commercial property market could see rents increase significantly.

However, in a joint statement, the company's chairman Anton Botha and chief executive Gerhard van Zyl said that rising building costs could potentially have a negative impact upon the market.

"Significant infrastructural expenditure on such developments as the World Cup, the Gautrain and the Coega IDZ will place further pressure on building costs in the year ahead," they stated.

A-grade building costs are likely to require rents that are above the current average rate, they added.

Earlier in the month, Business Day reported that median price growth within the country's residential property market reached 10.9 per cent in May.