Van Alphen listed four sets of figures from the latest Absa Housing Review, all of which, he said, give grounds for confidence. These are:
"It has, of course, to be admitted by way of contrast, that luxury homes (those priced above R3.8 million in Absa's Housing Review) continue to show negative growth year-on-year, but this is less than 10% of the total market," said van Alphen.
"The improvement," said Van Alphen, "is unlikely to boost home buying by a large amount, but it is worth recording that we are at last seeing the outstanding household debt to disposable income ratio stabilising at around the 75% mark and the ongoing low interest rates still makes it a great deal easier to service debt. Home buying will, therefore, remain steady in the coming year.
The almost intense activity in the R500 000 to R1 million bracket, added Van Alphen, is clearly visible in the figures acquired from many of the Rawson Property Group's franchisees, which his finance division services.
"It is now quite clear," said Van Alphen, "that a very large proportion of the increased turnover achieved by the Rawson Property Group year-on-year has been driven by sales in the lower-middle and lower brackets, and I can see no reason for thinking that this will not continue."