Harcourts Blog

The green revolution has become widely popular, and for good reason, with retail outlets offering organically grown food, businesses installing solar panels for residential purposes and a major surge to reduce wastage by on natural resources, it will continue to become a part of our everyday lives.

New FNB data shows the average time homes are currently on the market for across South Africa’s five major metros.

The latest FNB House Price Indices for the country’s major regions revealed that for the the summer quarters of 2016/17, the estimated time on the market in Ethekwini was the longest of the major metro regions – 17.29 weeks

Open homes are one of the most effective ways of marketing a property and attracting interest from a wide variety of buyers. Some of the many advantages are:

When you decide the time is right to sell your rental property, there are certain rules you need to be aware of.

Notice
If an owner puts the property on the market, they must tell the tenant in writing. As a courtesy, and to promote good relations between the sales team and the tenant, they would be advised to let the tenant know beforehand through their property manager.

Millennials is the term used to describe people born between the early 1980s to around the year 2000.

Recent research reveals that within three years, over 40% of home buyers will come from this generation, as many reach their peak income-earning years.

Purchasing a home is both a financial and emotional decision so the look and feel of your home will be an important factor in attracting interested buyers. Here are our top tips for helping you make your home more attractive to buyers

You’re desperate to sell your house. In fact, you need to sell yesterday.

Whether it’s financial stress, or your new job is in another part of the country or overseas, the most welcome sight in the world right now would be the words “SOLD” emblazed in your front yard.

Open houses give you a great first impression of a property and you’ll know almost immediately if it’s one you want to pursue.

But that first visit can be much more than a “once over lightly” impression. How do you make sure you’re getting as much information from it as possible? Use the time to perform a thorough first property inspection. Later on, you’ll want to engage professionals to inspect the building’s structure and health, but it’s a good idea to use your initial tour of the home to see some things for yourself.

When not to renovate
If your property needs repair or you’re considering a few renovation projects to get it ready for sale, there are a few things you need to consider first.

Although well-planned, cost-effective renovations can add value to a home, there is always the risk of over-capitalising. That’s why it pays to consider the types of renovations that add value and appeal to potential buyers. So, when you’re looking to sell, when shouldn’t you renovate?

Remember, renovating for your own personal use and renovating to attract a wide range of potential buyers are two different things. It all comes down to your return on investment or ROI. Basically, you’ll want to ensure the amount you invest in the renovation is less than the value you’re adding to the property, and the sale price you’re likely to achieve.

Here we explore some of the situations where we wouldn’t recommend renovating if you’re looking to maximise your sale price.

Check your margins
If your property isn’t in desperate need of repair and you’re confident you have a decent amount of equity existing in your property, renovations may not be necessary. Especially if after crunching the numbers, you’re not confident you would be increasing the sale price by that much, and remember a return on investment can never be guaranteed.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to renovating a property for profit, is to spend no more than 10% of the property’s value on the alterations. So, the first step would be to ensure you have an up-to-date valuation of your property, undertaken by a professional.

The next step would be to work out a budget, and ensure you add a buffer in case of unforeseen additional expenses. Using the 10% rule, this means a home valued at R500,000 would have a total renovation budget of R50,000. Any more than this, and you risk
over-capitalising.

Do you need a quick sale?
Most renovations take time, to plan and budget for as well as to be completed. So, if you’re looking to sell soon, renovations may not be possible. Remember too, that renovations often go over budget and can take longer than anticipated so factor all these considerations into your decision.

Who are you renovating for?
Some renovations appeal to most buyers, such as a kitchen or bathroom upgrade, but others are personal to you and your needs, taste and style and therefore won’t appeal to the largest number of potential buyers.

This can include adding extensions such as granny flats, converting bedrooms into specific-purpose rooms like a media room or library, and separating rooms by adding additional internal walls.

Who are you selling to?
This is where research is key. What is the demographic of your property’s neighbourhood? Mostly singles and couples? Mostly retirees or mostly families? Finding out who the neighbourhood is likely to attract will help you determine suitable renovations and not so suitable ones.

For instance, if your local market is likely to attract families, think carefully before adding stylish but potentially hazardous staircases, or ornate glass features. Or if your potential buyer is most likely an investor, keep renovations to a minimum as they will almost certainly have their own plans and your changes may add no value to them at all.

Ask if you’re unsure
When planning a renovation, don’t shy away from asking your local real estate sales consultant their opinion on the condition of the property, the type of buyer the home is likely to attract, what similar homes in similar condition are selling for and any renovations they would recommend. You may be surprised, if your home isn’t in need of massive renovations your sales consultant will tell you and you may save yourself a lot of hassle, time and money.

Fewer foreign buyers are investing in homes in South Africa. While this has little noticeable impact domestically, it underlines the tough conditions confronting the property market.