Crime and safety not a property disaster

Johannesburg - Crime and safety concerns now appear to be playing a less pivotal role in property buying decisions than in previous years.

"Crime is of course still an issue, and there are always some areas that buyers will perceive as absolute no-go zones, no matter how many security measures a particular home has in place," ERA South Africa property group said in a statement on Friday.

"However, our agents report that for the most part, crime has moved lower down the order of priority when it comes to buyers ticking the boxes in favour of a property purchase," CEO Gerhard Kotz said.

The emphasis also appeared to have switched away from the incidence of crime in an area to what specific security measures were in place.

"It's as if South African home buyers now see crime as part of everyday life in most suburbs and so expect that as a matter of course there will be adequate precautions in place in terms of the property itself and in the neighbourhood."

Buyers only really noticed if there were no security provisions, Kotz said.

It was interesting to note the decrease in crime during the FIFA World Cup, which many commentators had predicted would attract predatory criminals of all kinds.

"Instead, media reports indicated that crime incidents were actually lower countrywide during the event and were in fact the lowest of any World Cup event to date, with police making just 447 arrests relative to the 5.7 million fans who viewed the 64 games in stadia or fan parks."

The key in this respect was obviously the 44 000 extra police recruited for the event and mostly deployed around the stadium grounds and fan parks, Kotz said.

This proved that crime in South Africa was controllable given sufficient resources and proper planning, and made one think about the positive effects it would have on the economy in general and the property market in particular if the commitment to proper policing could be maintained.

Kotz said the big issues with home buyers were now electricity prices, commuting costs and rates and taxes.