5 things first-time property buyers need to know
The monthly bond instalment isn't the only expense - so budget wisely
The recent cut in the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75% might be all you needed to go on the hunt for your first property, but there may be other factors in your favour too. There are hints that the power of sellers to determine prices, or "seller pricing power", is diminishing, says John Loos, FNB economist and author of the Property Barometer, in the latest FNB house price index reports. "In June, the estimated level of resale price deflation was 9.6% of total sales, which is not significantly different from [the] 10.1% estimate as at the end of 2016, and far below the revised estimated 22.66% 'peak of crisis' level of August 2009. However, delving a bit deeper, we may see some very slight hints that seller 'pricing power' is diminishing." House price deflation is when residential property is sold for less than what it was purchased for. While there is always a degree of house price deflation in the market, in times such as the present, "when the market is weak and average hou...
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