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Nelson Mandela Bay Metro activity tracks the national trend higher in the third quarter…

The Third Quarter pointed to a significant jump in activity levels in the region, after a mediocre improvement since the low point reached in the third quarter a year ago. This suggests that the region is beginning to feel the positive impact of the series of interest rate cuts that took place in the first half of 2009.

The Property Barometer is a survey of a sample of estate agents in the major cities of the country regarding their personal experience of market conditions.

The main Barometer question relates to the level of demand activity, and agents are asked to rate the level of demand that they experience on a scale of one to 10.

After an initial rise from 4.18 in the third quarter a year ago to 4.92 in the second quarter of 2009, agents estimated activity to have jumped more significantly to 5.82 in the third quarter.

The third quarter survey was undertaken in mid-August, after the bulk of the SARB’s 2009 interest rate cuts to date.

PE more optimistic

The jump in the Mandela Bay activity rating means that the agents surveyed from the region, as in the other major coastal regions, are more upbeat about activity than their Gauteng counterparts, although all regions have seen an improvement.

The three major coastal metros, namely eThekwini (5.86), Mandela Bay (5.82), and Cape Town (5.82) are now more upbeat in their estimates of activity compared with Joburg’s 5.47 and Tshwane’s 5.76.

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