June Retail Building Statistics complete the 2nd quarter building picture, and pointed to a still-brisk pace of Retail Space building activity for the 2nd quarter as a whole.

A question often asked is to what extent mortgage lenders still provide “100% loans”, meaning mortgage loans that amount to 100% of the value of the home being purchased.

Some may perceive the Commercial Property Sector not to have “boomed” to the extent of the Residential Sector over the past 2 decades, with the Residential Market having experienced an extreme price growth boom prior to 2008.

According to John Loos, a mild slowdown for the Consumer and Retail Property sector is projected based on an FNB macroeconomic scenario where recession is avoided, inflation is moderate, and interest rates have just about peaked.

Retail sales growth remains solid in real terms, having averaged 3.3% for the 1st 5 months of 2016, similar to the average growth for 2015 as a whole.

The FNB Estate Agent Survey has begun to record a mild weakening in agent perceptions of home maintenance and upgrades, following a broad improving trend through 2013 to late-2015.

While the South African residential property market is showing signs of strain, prices in the Western Cape just keep going up.

The FNB Major Metro Former Township House Price Index continues to outperform the overall Major Metro House Price Index in terms of average price growth, although these “Township” areas remain the most affordable residential areas on average.

Perhaps one contributing factors to the formation of residential property “bubbles” or “overshoots” across the world over the years is the lengthy leads and lags between the start of a “negative” economic event, such as an interest rate hiking cycle, and the start of a rising trend in bad debt levels.

According to the FNB Estate Agent Survey, for the 1st quarter of 2016, 1st time home buying slowed when expressed as a percentage of total home buying.