Sally Gracie, an experienced local agent and MD of Chas Everitt Cape Town South with offices in Fish Hoek, Tokai and Bergvliet says there are plenty of buyers waiting to take action after the election.
“It is not just an observation based on gut feel, it is the clear imbalance between those viewing properties on the portals and the offers being taken. As an agency that monitors many key indicators, we see an issue here showing considerable interest by buyers but a reluctance to follow through with offers. This usually indicates a confidence issue and it’s clear that at the moment we can attribute this to the imminent elections”, says Sally Gracie.
“We measure four major indicators; the number of people viewing our listings online, the number of appointments that result from this interest and then the number of offers taken and sales concluded,” said Sally. “When the number of people viewing property increases, but the number of offers taken decreases, then it is clear there is a confidence issue we need to identify. Based on our recent discussions with buyers it is clear that it is not Eskom but the election that is impacting on buyers taking action. “
Sally cautioned sellers to not misread the market. “This situation does not mean that we are expecting an increase in prices as we have had a build-up of stock, in particular at the top end of the market where supply has increased substantially since the start of the year. Sellers need to remain competitive! What is needed is turnover, and we expect that movement will pick up, absorbing the increase in stock that we are currently servicing. I think we can say this is good news for everyone,” she said.
For a free market evaluation email Sally Gracie