Newsletter - July 2006
In this newsletter:
- A write-up of our recent launch of a
development in Cape Town;
- A News Review with links to several
interesting news articles;
- A write-up on the UK market &
property investment;
- A review on the progress of IPS
Mortgages;
- An update on our latest development in Johannesburg.
Successful IPS Launch in London
On the 11th of June 2006, IPS held a highly successful Property Exhibition at the London Rowing Club in Putney, South West London. The event was a massive success, and has set the standard for future IPS Property Exhibitions launching new developments to the London market.
Crimson
Square, a new development in Upper Woodstock, was launched simultaneously in London and in Cape Town, South Africa. The London market – often unable to gain access to launches of new developments – snapped up the opportunity, with over 30 sales being made on the day. Also on show were developments in Bryanston (Millwood), Gansbaai (Baleana Bay) and Muizenberg (Aspect).
Expect further IPS events launching new developments in the coming months - keep watching our property alerts and make sure you don't miss the next one!
Read more about the event on our website.
News Review
On the 8th of June, the MPC decided it was time to tighten the belt a bit, effectively raising the Prime
Interest Rate by half a percent to 11%. This is the first interest rate hike in nearly 3 years, and
may not be the last,
as record high oil prices and a weaker Rand increase inflationary pressures. While the prospects for oil prices
remain unclear, the effects of the increase will be felt throughout the economy,
adding to the general slowdown in the property market. Dr. Cees Bruggemans
explains that while the party hasn't stopped completely, it certainly has been calmed down.
In other property market news, the revitalisation of the Johannesburg CBD continues at pace,
and investors in general can also expect to see a possible increase in rentals as interest rates go up.
The recent foreign ownership issue is set to die a quiet death,
and while Consumer Confidence indicators
dropped off slightly, they still remain high by historic levels, possibly boosted by the prospect of a further boom ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
UK Property Investment
For a long time it has been on our "to-do list" to provide a service for people
interested in investing in property in the United Kingdom. We get a lot
of enquiries from people in both South Africa and in the UK
for assistance, and with offices in both countries we are
perfectly positioned to provide such a service.
 Over the last year we
have been doing a lot of work "behind the scenes" finding the right
properties and working on an effective property investment service,
and in the last 2 months we have been working on a number of
properties in Southfields that we think would make excellent
investments - properties under market value with high rental yields.
Scott Picken gave a talk at the recent Rode Conventions in
Johannesburg and Cape Town this month, giving an overview of the UK
property market and of a few potential property investment
strategies. His talk generated a lot of interest which in turn
highlighted the need for such an investment service. You can read a
summary
of his talk on our
website.
If you are interested in property investment in the
United Kingdom, and would like us to keep you updated of any future
opportunities, please leave
a note for us here
.
IPS Mortgages - Setting New Limits!
IPS Mortgages continues to provide an invaluable
service to buyers & investors looking to arrange a mortgage in
South Africa. In the first half of this year, we have
already processed more home-loan applications than we did in the whole of
2005! On average we are now able to get between 1.5% and 2.05%
below Prime for our clients, and we are consistently getting
loans for 100% of the purchase price for overseas applicants - an
advantage of having specialised in this
area.
Some of our recent commendations from the South African banks
include being:
- The largest aggregator behind
MortgageSA on Standard Bank's books
;
- The highest take-up rate amongst all
mortgage aggregators
;
- Regarded by Standard Bank as being
the most efficient processor
.
Our mortgage PreApprovals are still proving to be very popular. Advantages
of getting a PreApproval include: Knowing exactly how much
you can borrow; PreApprovals are valid for 6 months and so can
still be used if you are looking to buy a property on a trip home
in December; Allow you to get your documentation in place now,
making it easier when applying for the formal mortgage once a
property has been found.
If you would like IPS to assist you
in arranging a mortgage wherever you are, you can either apply
online, contact
us , or read
more
about mortgages on our website. For Mortgage PreApprovals, please contact
us directly as we require a £100 deposit for all PreApproval
applications.
Update on New Developments
Our latest new
development is St Paul, an excellent home or investment property in
the fast-growing suburb of Paulshof. Paulshof is situated just
outside the N1 highway between the very popular suburbs of Fourways
and Sunninghill, where prices have skyrocketed in the last few
years. This location, and the nearby arterial routes such as Main
Road, Rivonia Road, William Nicol, Witkoppen Road and the N1,
make it an ideal northern suburbs location for commuting or renting
out. (See the Google Earth satellite images for an idea of the site
location - although the area is slightly more developed since the
images were taken!).
The developers of St Paul are
highly reputable and have honed their designs to
offer exactly what the local market is demanding - well-priced, spacious free-standing
houses and townhouses with the option to add a loft &
roof-top sundeck & braai/entertainment area.
The development has a security gatehouse and communal pool / entertainment area.
Available properties start at R 650,000. Click here for more
information on the development, or click
here to view photographs of the site overlayed on a Google Satellite
Image.
In our other
developments: Kwela
Close transfers in August and there are a few
properties available - please enquire for photographs & more information; we still have
a handful of bachelor & 2-bedroom apartments left in
Crimson Square, Upper Woodstock (R
595,000 to R 995,000); a few 2 & 3 bed apartments and
townhouses available in Millwood Lifestyle
Estate in
the heart of Bryanston (and on show this Sunday), priced from R 770,000 to
R 1.4m; several stand-alone 2 & 3 bed houses in Ayrfields near Kloof from R 797,000; as well as
other new developments
around the
country.
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