Dip in house sales across SA, property analysts say

GAUTENG is not the weakest market in terms of house sales‚ despite there being an oversupply of stock in some parts of the province.

A recent report – released by Seeff properties – shows Centurion, part of the City of Tshwane, has 9 000 properties on the market.

It equated to 18 months’ worth of property that must be sold without any properties coming into the market, Seeff said.

The property group noted that buyer inquiries had halved since the start of the year and that activity was expected to pick up only from next month, Seeff Centurion managing director Steve van Wyk said.

FNB household and property sector strategist John Loos agreed.

“But recently‚ our FNB Estate Agent Survey has actually shown Gauteng homes average 12 weeks on the market prior to sale‚ which is significantly shorter than the coastal metros’ average time of closer to 20 weeks.

“So‚ I don’t think Gauteng is the weakest market‚ but there has been significant weakening since the economy began to stagnate‚” Loos said.

The FNB barometer had shown that Gauteng measured a lowly 2.3% yearon-year price growth. The Eastern Cape had experienced a 0.1% decline.

Seeff also attributed the decline to the recession and negative sentiment.

However‚ it said there were a lot of opportunities for sellers‚ but they needed to consider the price of the property‚ fixing it before the sale‚ having a sole mandate‚ and good negotiation skills‚ before selling property.

“We are taking offers daily‚ but only on those properties that are really well-priced‚” Van Wyk said.

Loos said: “We have seen slow average price growth across SA‚ barring the Western Cape.”