Given the budget deficit and the revenue challenges, an increase in VAT and virtually no increase in the personal income tax thresholds were expected, which would have hit consumers hard.

This turned out not to be the case. Other than the usual increases in sin taxes and a less than expected increase in the fuel levy, consumers are going to get more tax relief than they got last year, with above inflation increases in the PIT thresholds. This, together with the recent interest rate cut, could lay the foundation for a shift in consumer confidence, which is key to the recovery in the residential property market.

The increase in the transfer threshold to R1 million is once again not a significant increase but definitely more than expected. At the lower end of the market, an extra R3,000 saving will add to the buying opportunities in the current market already supported by favourable bank lending and property prices offering excellent value.

Consumers didn’t carry the burden of this budget and that’s good news for consumer confidence. The real burden for the current budget is carried by the government and their ability to fix the SOEs and reduce a bloated and inefficient public sector.