This month has seen more positive news emerging from the UK property market. Consensus across the market seems to suggest we’re at the bottom now. There’s no consensus, however, on how long the bottom will last but activity levels are still climbing on the high street. On an anecdotal level I’ve seen remortgage valuations (i.e. valuations of properties for the purpose of remortgage) come in between 10 to 15% above the well known national index values those same houses. From where I am sitting that’s a clear lead indicator that that indexes are lagging activity on the street and we will soon see new price levels reflected in the indexes. Continue Reading

There’s much talk of green shoots in the UK housing market at the moment and to be fair most of it is true. The new buyer activity we’ve seen in the market since January is starting to stabilise prices and lenders are becoming a bit more confident. Evidence of this can be seen with two lenders currently offering 95% mortgages for first time buyers. While these deals are expensive and the criteria are tight, the fact that they exist is confirmation of lenders views on price levels. The overriding problem in the background remains the fact that the banking system is still overleveraged so we don’t expect to see big changes in loan to values or products for some time. Continue Reading

According to an article published in Fin 24 the South African housing market has seen a revival largely from a surge of interest from South African expats living abroad. Coupled with a weaker Rand, 1st Contact explains the benefits of managing off shored property investments optimally. Continue Reading

Looking at making the big move back? There are a few things you should be thinking about when planning your move back to South Africa. Sorting out your personal taxes, offshore funds, banks accounts and medical aid are a few of the critical things to have in place prior to leaving. Continue Reading