Buying now... Yay or Nay?

Should one listen to the uninformed investors when they say that it is not a good time to be in property?

I say no!

I can go into a lot of detail here and explain the performance of property over the last 20 years versus the last 10 versus the last 5 years. But I'll explain it in the simplest way I know.

They always say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think this one can be worth millions... of rands, that is!

This is an excerpt from the ABSA 2nd quarter Housing Review.

I have circled the figures that make me so excited.

This report shows the growth of certain property types, compared year-on-year.

This specific segment is the small size of the mid-ranged properties. 80 sq.m - 140 sq.m

If you notice that properties in Jhb Central & South have still managed to maintain a 37.7% growth Year-on-Year in this "absolutely terrible" market of ours. And greater JHB still maintained a 22.3% growth. Much better than any other investment.

And the one thing that people don't always realise is that it is now a renter's market. Asking prices for rent have shot up by as much as 20% in certain areas, purely because of short-supply and over-demand.

And guess what happens when interest rates start to come down at the end of 2009 / beginning of 2010? Does rent come down? I don't think so. This means that your rent will be closer to covering your bond repayments, thus saving or even making you some cash.

Most people in the know are saying it will still be 12 - 18 months before the market starts looking better, I think, the market was never bad for the well-informed investor. All we had to do was change our focus for a while. Buy low, sell high, and rent them out in-between.