How much has your house price dropped by?

The FNB House price Index was released on Monday the 4th of May 2009. It shows that house prices are still continuing to decline and that the housing market is not in a good state, nor can it be expected to recover any time soon. This is due to a sizeable oversupply that has built up due to owners in distress who are trying to sell but can't find any buyers. The market has declined around 10% year on year. So what can you do about it?

 

• Re-mortgage your house
• Consolidate your debt
• Get a better homeloan

 

This is what the financial papers had to say about the FNB house Price Index. The Dispatch carried a SAPA report on the new Index figures and noted that the decline in the market is due to a host of factors, the largest of which is the negative economic factors we have been experiencing over the last few years, include massive inflation and interest rates, which have both weighed down heavily on our economy.

The Mail and Guardian also carried this story and looked at when we can expect the market to recover. This year is not expected to show a significant improvement, although interest rate cuts should start to show their effect towards the end of the year as there is a long lead time between a cut and its effect on the real economy. With the political uncertainty of the last few months now settled by the election results there should be less fear in the market and emigration selling is apparently also subsiding. At the end of the day we are still in a downturn, there are a few things you can do to hold onto your property while you wait it out.