SONA in a nutshell

Union and business representatives have welcomed President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address to Parliament and, while the speech was held by some observers to be uninspiring it contained a lot of detail about the government's plans to boost jobs and invest in infrastructure. 10 Feb 2012 10:06

Business confidence falls in January

Business confidence fell to its lowest level since May 2010, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) said. 9 Feb 2012 09:33

dti moots small business census

The Department of Trade and Industry wants to run a regular small business census to help improve its support and funding to the sector as part of a revised policy to boost support to small businesses. 9 Feb 2012 09:09

Asbestos, from building industry hero to a latent killer

SA Commercial Prop News reports that asbestos, once the hero of the building industry, is now regarded as one of the most feared contaminants on earth and a latent killer. Although South Africa banned the mining of asbestos, and outlawed the manufacture of products containing asbestos in 2008, the toxin still makes up a large proportion of the material components found in existing buildings. 25 Jan 2012 15:14

Warning: Beware bogus sellers

Government has appealed to South Africans to refrain from buying land from bogus sellers as they will not only lose their money, but they could be evicted and charged for illegally occupying the land. The warning from Rural Development and Land Affairs comes in the wake of recent and ongoing land invasions in Walmanthsdall, north of Pretoria. 24 Jan 2012 10:34

Residential house prices show increase in December 2011

According to the latest oobarometer results released by ooba - one of South Africa's leading bond originators - property prices showed positive year-on-year growth of 6.2% in December. Although this increase is a positive development for the local residential property market, ooba predicts that the market will continue to trade sideways in 2012. 23 Jan 2012 05:50

New property valuations coming this year

According to a Fin24 report, municipalities around South Africa are preparing for the next large-scale property valuation assessment, which may drive municipal rates higher according to Ben Espach, valuations director at Rates Watch. 17 Jan 2012 16:57

Private Property Holdings

The good news about the property industry's 'baddies'

[Lea Jacobs] In a recent survey by Columinate conducted on behalf of Private Property, only 5 percent of people indicated that they trusted estate agents. By implication this indicates that 95 percent of people do not trust estate agents. 6 Feb 2012 09:18