FNB Property Barometer – Q1 2010

What is the FNB Residential Property Barometer?
The FNB Residential Property Barometer is a quarterly report produced by FNB Home Loans. The report draws conclusions from a survey of various estate agency groups in South Africa.

Estate Agencies are asked, among other things, to rate the level of demand in the South African residential property market on a scale of 1 to 10. The data from this survey is compared with other statistics, and conclusions are then drawn about the future of the property market.

FNB Home Loans Property Barometer For January 2010 to March 2010
While, demand of property barely changed during the second half of 2009, there was a clear rise in demand during the first quarter of 2010. Demand rose from 5.65 to 5.68 in Q4 of 2009, but that figure leaped to 6.35 in Q1 of 2010.
This is a highest activity levels have been in the last 3 years.

With demand at relatively high levels, how will this affect the real estate market going forward?
Speaking in an interview with CNBC Africa, Ewald Kellerman of FNB Home Loans highlighted that estate agents would typically see where house prices are headed, a lot earlier than the banks would.

  • A demand rating of 6,35 certainly ties in with FNB’s forecast of about 8% growth in house prices for 2010.
  • The time its take to sell a property is also dropping. Properties now take about 12 weeks and 4 days to be sold, on average.
  • Meanwhile, the number of homeowners selling to downscale has also dropped to 20%. This is an indication that household debt has become more manageable.

These figures all point to very encouraging signs that the real estate market is recovering well. While most agents believe demand will continue to increase during the second quarter of 2010, FNB’s property analysts still believe the recovery will be very slow.

Download The Full FNB Residential Property Barometer Here.

Below is a video clip of CNBC Africa interview with Ewald Kellerman, FNB Home Loans Property Analyst.

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