Is it a good time to buy property?
A large part of buying a home as a successful investment is about timing. What the market is doing at the time of your purchase can determine whether you make a large return on that investment in a few years or suffer a setback, but how do you know when the time is right?
South Africans looking for property for sale in Randfontein or in many other regions of the country have to remain apprised of the country’s economic climate when determining whether or not they’re in a position to buy a house. The impact of national politics on the economy, and therefore the real estate market, is an important element to watch but it has been known to be chaotic in the case of South Africa.
Although most are aware of the need to save for a deposit, not everyone understands that the ‘buck doesn’t stop there.’ Buying a home is an expensive exercise and includes all sorts of hidden costs including transfer fees and conveyancing costs. Cheaper fixer-uppers often come with their own set of challenges in the form of maintenance costs and yes, you may have bought the home for an absolute song but you are going to have to spend money in order to make the place habitable.
To a large degree, whether to buy or not depends on two factors: what your personal finances look like and what your intentions for the property are. If you can afford the deposit without making significant changes to your current lifestyle then it may be right for you. If, however, you need to sell your car, then it might be better to delay until you’ve managed to acquire more of a safety net.
First time homeowners have a great deal more difficulty since they don’t have a current property they can sell in order to raise the money to put towards a new one. Newly constructed properties with no former owner can be a boon to them in this situation, since there are no transfer fees in that instance, saving around R50 000 that can instead be put towards a deposit.
