First time buyers urged to pounce

Staying up to date on everything related to the property market is as easy as visiting the Private Property website on a regular basis, and in a recent article, they shed some light on why 2019 could be a good year for first time buyers looking at property in Potchefstroom.

You can’t argue that 2018 was a year to forget financially, with a number of increases and a range of other problems, such as a struggling economy and political uncertainty. However, although some of those problems are still causing concern, experts have noticed some important changes that provide a glimmer of hope for those looking to enter into the property market.

It is interesting to note that banks are still showing signs of being highly competitive with one another to land new business. This means that they are making their home loan options more affordable and accessible to the general consumer. In fact, ooba reports that there was an impressive drop of 20% year on year when assessing the Average Deposit as a Percentage of Purchase Price, with it now at 12%.

“This is the ideal time for prospective first-time homeowners, including those without deposits, to enter the property market. 80% of our 100% bond applications in Q4 18 were approved compared to 72% in Q4 17,” said CEO of ooba, Rhys Dyer.

Experts have also been talking about negative real property price growth, which is centred around the fact that people are seeing their wages shoot up at a faster rate than the house price growth. This is not good news for sellers, but coupled with the improved lending conditions, it means that buyers are in the perfect place to find more affordable properties.

When entering the market, be sure to make the most of the situation by looking at numerous home loan offers before signing on the dotted line.