Despite weak economic fundamentals resulting in negative real house price growth, the banking industry continues to show confidence in South Africa’s property market by further relaxing their lending criteria and approving home loan finance at levels last seen 12 years ago.

Slight improvement in transaction volumes alongside mortgage advances.

FNB's 1Q19 City of Cape Town Sub-Regional House Price Indices showed that most sub-regions are experiencing slowing house price growth, with the most expensive regions now experiencing house price deflation.

The generally market-friendly election outcome will in all likelihood create a degree of certainty and stability and go some way towards addressing the issues currently affecting  confidence in the South African economy - and as a consequence have a positive effect on the South African residential property market, says Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group.

With inflation currently below the mid-point of the Reserve Bank’s inflation target and economic growth remaining sluggish, the Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate steady at 6.75%, as expected.

In the 2nd Quarter 2018 FNB Estate Agent Survey Buy-to-Let demand is perceived to be slower of late, along with moderating near term expectations amongst agents.

May 2018 saw the FNB House Price Index growing by a faster 4.6%, year-on-year, up from the previous month’s 3.8% in April, and from a February 2018 low of 2.8%.

The FNB Holiday Towns House Price Index, comprising towns (both coastal and inland) whose housing markets are deemed to be strongly driven by holiday home demand, continue to show a mild “outperformance” in terms of house price growth, relative to the overall national market.

ooba, South Africa’s biggest bond originator, welcomes the interest rate cut of 0.25% announced by the South African Reserve Bank this afternoon.

Our Firstrand expectation is for a 25 basis point interest rate cut in the SARB’s Repo Rate, when its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting concludes on Wednesday. Should this happen, it would lower the Repo Rate to 6.5%, and the Prime Lending Rate of banks to 10%.