There was some encouraging news for the property sector in today’s Budget speech by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, which addressed some of the major issues that are putting the brakes on economic growth and development.

The upwards adjustment of the transfer duty threshold to R1 million will certainly entice more people into the property market. It is bound to bring many first-time homeowners into the fold by significantly reducing the financial burden on those looking to enter the market.

This is a welcome commitment by the National Treasury to support the property market, as investment in the sector provides a barometer of the fiscal health of our country.

Furthermore, the successful pilot of the government’s Help to Buy scheme is heartening. More than 2000 families have thus far been assisted in buying their own homes, boosting new lending figures to around R1 billion in just one year.

The Minister also provided some welcome reassurance that the relevant “officials will find ways to use the allocations made through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant to ensure that municipalities not only build new infrastructure but also maintain the infrastructure they already have”.
Other positive news in the Budget includes the penalising of municipalities that haven’t implemented measures to deal with corruption, and the fact that municipalities that are in good standing will be allowed to buy electricity from independent power producers, a very positive development for homeowners.