Jozi homes market on the rise in 2018

My bullish New Year wishes for the 2017 homes market – featured in this space a year ago – unfortunately came nowhere near to being realised.

I got it wrong. But I was by far not alone.

At the start of the year, few people would have predicted the meltdown of residential property market sentiment that would follow the ‘State capture’ revelations by the so-called ‘GuptaLeaks’.

Market optimism effectively melted away as the transgressions were systematically exposed by South Africa’s intrepid investigative journalists and media.

My first wish back in January 2017 was that the country’s (then) negative national economic mood would soon change for the better. It didn’t. But there are clear signs that it is beginning to manifest now – a year later.

Looking back, 2017 was a year of two distinct halves.

The first half was incredibly difficult. It was a period in which the Gauteng homes market was at a virtual standstill – caused by a seemingly unending flow of sentiment-sapping negative economic, political and social news and events.

Potential recovery

The second half was different. Green shoot tips of potential recovery emerged in June. Buying and selling began to show a steady, albeit modest, uptick in activity.

It was like kindling to a smouldering fire. It simply needed a spark for positive sentiment to flare up.

That spark came at the end of 2017 with the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the new President of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and hence the successor-in-waiting to Jacob Zuma as President of South Africa.

The uptick in sentiment that followed the Ramaphosa vote result was exactly what the national homes market had been waiting for. Furthermore, it added welcome year-end traction to a Johannesburg homes sector that had virtually flat-lined during 2017.

Residential property is a sector that is good at anticipating, and reading, improving market scenarios – and it latched on to this one quickly. So much so that Ennik Estates posted our best-ever December home sales performance last month!

Positive period

Looking ahead, I anticipate that the period from now to mid-March will be positive for the homes market in Johannesburg’s Northern Suburbs and Sandton.

The backlog of, until now, ‘wait-and-see’ buyers and sellers could well re-emerge on the back of the (clearly Ramaphosa-driven) initiative to bring to book both State and private sector individuals involved in ‘State capture’ activities.

February has traditionally been the most active month on the Johannesburg home buy/sell calendar – irrespective of market conditions. This year should be no different.

All the more so because it appears to have suddenly dawned on aspirant buyers that the lower prices they have been patiently waiting for have already materialised.

Meanwhile, the Ennik Estates team joins me in wishing all home owners, buyers and sellers well in what promises to be an uptrend year for residential property in 2018.