Property market will favour buyers in 2017
Prospective home buyers are likely to have more bargaining power this year as South Africa's residential property market comes under renewed pressure.
Data from banks and other industry players shows that housing activity has been on a steady slide since mid-2016 on the back of a struggling economy, higher interest rates and mounting consumer debt. For 2016 as a whole, average house price growth slowed to 5%, down from 7.2% and 6.5% for 2014 and 2015 respectively, according to the FNB house price index released this week. House prices actually declined 1.2% in real terms in 2016 after adjusting for inflation. On a monthly basis, FNB's index recorded a measly 1.3% increase in December. That's the lowest growth recorded by FNB since May 2011, significantly down from the 6.9% level still seen in April last year. Absa has not yet released its house price figures for 2016 but they are likely to mirror the declining trend. In October, the bank recorded its lowest level of price growth (3.2%) in four years for properties priced up to R4.4-million. Sales volumes are also down, with preliminary data from property intelligence company Light...
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