Election is victory for the residential property market



Whatever the final outcome of this week's General Election is, it is already a victory for the residential property market. The first factor in its favour is the turnout, with many areas reporting a voting percentage of more than 70 percent. The second is the peaceful nature of the election and the third - all credit to the IEC - is the highly organised way in which the election was run. These things signal South Africa's future as a country where the majority of ordinary people are committed to the democratic process and tolerant of other opinions and beliefs, and as a country where there is a commitment to building the capacity for good service delivery. To property investors, potential buyers and existing homeowners, they also signal that their confidence in the country's residential property market over the past two to three years has not been misplaced. Until now, this confidence has largely rested on a promising economic outlook, with inflation under control and interest rates at historic lows. But in South Africa, such confidence has always been sustained or broken by political events, and it would undoubtedly have been severely dented if the election had gone badly. Instead, we have a picture of millions of South Africans going enthusiastically to the polls and being enabled to cast their votes in an atmosphere untainted by intimidation or violence, which bodes very well for the continued strength of the property market. It illustrates the stability and discipline so cherished by investors, and a willingness among ordinary people to defend the fruits of democracy, including the rights of individuals as regards the acquisition and ownership of property. Indeed, it suggests a greater - and much broader - understanding of the benefits of a strong property market, and thus that there is even more reason for investors and owners to celebrate now than there was in 1994, when the country's first democratic election gave the market a huge boost. Article: Meg Wilson Property24 News for the latest real estate news, visit www.property24.co.za