MAIN IMAGE: Carl Coetzee, BetterBond CEO; Dr Roelof Botha, a Research Economist at the Gordon Institute of Business Science
BetterBond recently launched the Property Brief which is says aims to provide the real estate industry and property media with key insights into the residential property market in South Africa. The Property Brief will be published monthly and based on our in-house data, augmented with analysis and insights from well-respected research economist, Dr Roelof Botha. Botha is a seasoned commentator on economic issues, affiliated with the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), long-time advisor to the Optimum Investment Group and Currencies Direct, and former advisor to the National Treasury.
Carl Coetzee, BetterBond CEO, told the Property Professional that, “Given that the property market is constantly in flux, we think a monthly overview of trends and insights could be of great value to our real estate partners, as well as the property media. Doing this work on a monthly basis, will enable us to track bigger trends and draw more meaningful conclusions from comparisons over time. In future, we foresee that this data could then also be used to forecast market shifts and conditions”.
He went on to mention that the objective of the Property Brief is to package market-related data in a manner that is incisive, relevant and accessible, drawing on Dr Botha’s expertise to help grow their insights and understanding of the residential property market in South Africa. “We will share this market intelligence publicly. Overall, the aim is to create a valuable resource for our real estate partners”, he explains.
The key takeouts
- Over the past four years, BetterBond data shows a consistent increase in homebuyers’ income. Since Q1 2019, average income for the 31-40 age group increased by 22.9% to more than R47,500 per month, followed by 41-50-year-olds, with an increase of 20.5% to almost R60,000 per month.
- The growing importance of the residential property market in the Western Cape should not be underestimated. It has a strong structural dimension and could have an enduring, significant impact on house prices in the rest of the country.
- In the Western Cape, superior service delivery and good roads have helped residential property prices outstrip those in the rest of the country. In 2022, the average house price in the Western Cape was 28% higher than the national average; 78% higher than the Eastern Cape average and almost double the average in North-West.
- The macro economy remains in good shape:
4 million new jobs created in 2022.
SA’s leading business cycle indicator remains close to the all-time high recorded in 2022.
Total exports soared to an unprecedented level of more than R2 trillion in 2022.
The JSE benchmark equity index also reached an all-time high earlier in 2023.
Read the full report here
