Harcourts News

Port Elizabeth’s traditionally middle-class residential suburbs are becoming increasingly sought-after addresses on the back of rising living costs.

One of a handful of towns in South Africa where demand for residential property currently exceeds supply, Richards Bay on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast is ripe for developers and investors.

The Harcourts Foundation donated R7,500 to Maranatha Trust in Forest Hill, Port Elizabeth for the purchasing of equipment for the vegetable tunnels that will be donated by Old Mutual. They have been selected by Waterval Ministries in co-operation with Old Mutual to be the beneficiary of 10 vegetable tunnels to be erected at Maranatha. With Harcourts' donation, they were able to purchase a 5000L water tank, wheel barrows and gardening tools to tend to the vegetables. Harcourts cares about the community. Well done Harcourts Beachfront!

More than half of the 40 units in the new Ambarlea residential development in Hilton have been sold – less than two months since launch date.

The rate of new development throughout Midrand is chewing up the gap between Pretoria and Johannesburg to the point where the Gauteng Provincial Government predicts that much of Gauteng will be a single city by 2015.

The nearly 3 600 formal house fires recorded during 2010 in South Africa, according to the National Fire Protection Association’s most recent statistics, caused the deaths of 60 people and a monetary loss of more than R1, 3 billion. Further, 49% of house fires have their origins in electrical distribution or lighting equipment problems, according to NFPA figures for the period 2005 – 2009. Which is why it’s critical to use only qualified, registered contractors to do the electrical compliance certification of a property when it changes hands, says Richard Gray, CEO of Harcourts Real Estate.

A new age has dawned for the South African real estate industry on the back of massive technological advancement, to the point that 80 percent of sellers now start their property searches on the Internet.

The launch of Flowers Halt Retirement Lifestyle Estate in Queenstown, the commercial centre of the Karoo Heartland, has brought with it the first-ever opportunity for senior citizens to live in a retirement complex.

Harcourts SA, one of South Africa’s largest real estate brands, will be collecting soup for the country’s poor, homeless and hungry during July, in honour of Nelson Mandela’s 94th birthday.
Announcing the launch of the Harcourts “67 Minutes for Mandela” charity drive, group CEO Richard Gray said the initiative was in support of Mandela Day, an internationally recognized calendar event adopted by the United Nations to mark the ex-president’s birthday on 18 July.
“The Harcourts soup drive is in keeping with the objective of Mandela Day, which asks people, communities and businesses to donate 67 minutes of their time to doing something for others. In so doing, they will be honouring the 67 years that Nelson Mandela gave of his life to the struggle for justice in South Africa,” explained Gray.
He added: “This is not a marketing exercise but a genuine attempt to help struggling communities. Team Harcourts members contribute regularly to The Harcourts Foundation through organized fundraising events and donations, determined to achieve the Foundations' purpose, namely to provide support that helps, grows and enriches our communities. On top of this, Harcourts head office funds all the running costs of The Foundation so that 100 percent of the money raised can be given to South Africa’s under-privileged.”
The Harcourts “67 Minutes for Mandela” soup drive follows on the back of a charity auction which took place at the group’s annual conference at the Wild Coast last month. Here, business owners donated a number of valuables for auction, including an original artwork, which was bought for R11 000, and a Johnny Walker collection, which went for R10 000. In all, the event raised R32 500, which will be donated to reputable, registered charities.
“All Harcourts members, when they become part of the group, assume a concomitant commitment to serving their local communities and making a real difference,” said Gray. “This commitment had manifested in the collection of more than R2 million in cash as well as blankets, food and clothing since the launch of the South African division of The Harcourts Foundation in 2011.”
Anyone wishing to be a part of Harcourts “67 Minutes for Mandela” soup drive is asked to contact Harcourts head office at either (031) 201 1060 or email foundation@harcourts.co.za for details of their closest participating Harcourts office.
Visit “The Harcourts Foundation” website: www.harcourtsfoundation.org

Herewith some feedback from the recent Harcourts Conference held at Wild Coast Sun in June this year...... "Awesome venue, Awesome everything"; "Outstanding"; "Excellent - life changing"; "Absolutely amazing, so empowering"; "It was absolutely awesome. I was so excited and honoured to be part of such an awesome and spectacular event. There was lots of bonding with one another that gave me a sense of family unity and lots of Love. The Speakers touched on many things in life. ONE TEAM GREAT BY CHOICE."; "I think it was done in excellence, and a very balanced topic choice and great speakers"; "The entire conference was outstanding!!! It exceeded my expectations by far, and I will encourage fellow agents who are serious about this industry to attend future conferences."