Houses taking longer to sell

The report shows clearly how the property market has changed over the past 18 months in terms of the number and frequency of properties sold.

It covers single residential and multi-unit transactions between July 2006 and December 2007, recorded by over 4 000 estate agent offices nationwide.

During the report period, sales of residential properties listed as "sold" on Property24 decreased by 20%, Property24 real estate service general manager Christo Wiid said.

"This trend has highlighted the slower turnover of properties in recent months, where the time taken to sell a home has doubled from a 90-day timeframe to 180 days."

The recorded average difference between asking and selling prices nationwide had increased during the same period, he said.

During the second half of 2006 the average difference between asking and selling price stayed mostly flat, but by mid-2007 was showing a steady widening.

The trend gathered momentum in late 2007, with properties selling for between 15% and 25% less than the listing price.

Market changed

From this it would seem that sellers had either not realised the market had changed, or were raising their asking prices proportionately in an effort to realise the sale at the closest amount possible to their original price.

It was also clear the inland metropolitan areas had resisted the property market slowdown better than their coastal counterparts.

The coastal areas - Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth - took an additional 45 to 60 days to sell in 2007 compared with 2006, while inland the number of days taken to sell during the second half of 2006 increased by only two to three weeks in 2007.

The exception was Bloemfontein, which saw homes staying on the market for up to 13 weeks longer, Wiid said.

However, coastal zones were still selling a higher number of properties.

According to agent data, although coastal metros' sales had decreased by 30%, inland metros were down almost 60%.

"As the inland areas comprise the majority of residential property sales in South Africa, this translates into a significant effect on the industry.

"In short, the figures reflect a property market that consists of fewer houses being listed for higher prices, that are taking a good deal longer to sell," Wiid said.

- Sapa