Weak economy hinders prospects of real estate listings in 2019
Property shares on the JSE trade for less than their asset value, indicating the market expects the sector to keep heading south
Fund managers expect few if any real estate companies to list on the JSE this year while weak economic conditions persist and South African property shares trade at a discount to their asset values. The head of listed property funds at Stanlib, Keillen Ndlovu, said few listings of any size could be expected to come to market. “The current environment makes it almost impossible for new listings to come through, more so for funds looking for immediate capital. The listed property sector is trading at discounts to net asset value of between 10% and 15% on average,” he said. “This simply means that listed property shares are trading at levels lower than their physical property values. This suggests that the market expects physical property values to decline over time,” he said. There was talk among market pundits in recent months that real estate companies, especially smaller ones run by black entrepreneurs, had wanted to list, with the intention of raising capital and then buyi...
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