Further repo rate cut would have provided relief for economy and boosted housing market, says Dr Andrew Golding.

The residential property market in the Eastern Cape has remained surprisingly resilient during the unprecedented times the economy currently faces, says Pam Golding Properties.

The further reduction of the repo rate by 25 basis points to an all-time low of 3.5% takes the prime interest rate down to 7%, says Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group.

Experts are divided on whether the South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will hold or decrease the repo rate later this month, according to Finder’s panel of 11 experts.

“The COVID-19 Crisis has changed the world a lot, perhaps less through introducing new trends and more through speeding up old trends,” said John Loos, FNB Economist at an FNB Commercial Property Finance (CPF) webinar earlier today.

In the midst of a rapidly contracting economy in limbo under an extended lockdown, today’s (21 May 2020) announcement of a further reduction of 50 bps in the repo rate will have a positive effect on the residential property market, albeit deferred until potential buyers can begin transacting in earnest, says Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group.

Spear REIT Limited (SEA:SJ), the only regionally specialised Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) listed on the JSE, reported its annual financial results today, posting 6.06% earnings growth amidst some of the toughest trading environments in recent years for the South African listed real estate sector.

In a recent note, we indicated that, in the “post-lockdown” recessionary period we would likely see the direct economy-related pressures being more severe on the Industrial Property Sector, via a very weak.

It is fashionable to have an opinion on how the COVID-19 Crisis is “changing the world”.

A slowing capital growth trend, into negative territory by 2019, has been in play in recent years. The Corona Crisis is likely to add momentum to this correcting trend in 2020.