THE property surprise of the year is that a buoyant, rapidly growing property market has developed in Botswana, fuelled by a liberal economic system and a booming economy.

It is essential to maximise earnings from each property

It is essential to maximise earnings from each property.

Government is to appeal a court judgment compelling it to evict and provide housing for 40,000 illegal squatters occupying part of a commercial farm in Benoni.

Tempers are wearing thin in the JSE Security Exchange's real estate sector, where burgeoning investment funds compete for slim pickings of scrip in 20 property unit trusts (PUTs) and property loan stock companies (PLSs).

Pretoria - Redefine Income Fund's R356.4 million bid to acquire a portfolio of 27 investment properties from Rand Leases Properties (RL Props) had been approved by linked unit holders of both companies, the listed property loan stock company reported yesterday.

Conventional wisdom suggests that with the rand improving strongly against the world’s major currencies, and with inflation and interest rates expected to head back down from their current highs, one of the best places to look for good investments would be on the listed property market. But the experts warn otherwise, saying that while property shares are expected to rerate next year, other equity investments will do better.

PROPERTY loan stock company Fairvest has pulled off its R420m property portfolio acquisition by using a complicated financial technique that essentially defers a substantial portion of payment to vendors.

Three funds have issued cautionaries

PROPERTY portfolios are often given insufficient attention in mergers and acquisitions, even though they may represent a significant portion of the balance sheet and operating expenses.