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Johannesburg - Standard Bank experienced 44% year on year growth in owner-occupied commercial property deals for the period 2012/2013.
One of the primary reasons for this is that more businesses have been looking to purchase buildings for their own use rather than opting to rent their business premises.
Busisiwe Silwanyana, head of business lending at Standard Bank, said the main reason for the increased owner-occupied commercial property deals is that businesses are seeking to shield themselves against annual rental increases which typically escalate at 8% per annum on average.
While the owner-occupied model does expose commercial property buyers to potential interest rate increases, Silwanyana said they can hedge against this risk by opting for Standard Bank’s fixed-rate loans.
“The advantage of going the owner-occupied route is that you are not at the mercy of a landlord’s annual rental increases,” said Silwanyana.
“That’s particularly relevant for businesses that have built up a considerable amount of goodwill with their clients due to the location of their premises."
Certain landlords can use that as leverage to negotiate a far higher rent when your lease expires since they know that moving premises would erode a considerable amount of goodwill with clients or customers.
Commercial property loans are typically granted over periods of 10 years with buyers usually financing between 70% and 75% of the property’s value.
While the majority of owner-occupied commercial property transactions are from businesses looking to purchase an existing building, Silwanyana said that firms that are experiencing significant growth are increasingly looking at building their own bespoke premises.
“When a business looks to build its own premises it is usually a vote of confidence in their long-term future. This is a crucial aspect for us as our model is to look at the quality of the client as well as the building before extending a loan,” said Silwanyana.
“It is also a potentially good omen for the South African economy, as it might be a leading indicator that confidence is building post-recession, with businesses looking to invest rather than sit on cash piles.”
Standard Bank has also seen a considerable increase in small commercial property transactions of between R5m and R10m in non-metropolitan locations.
Silwanyana said this is largely being driven by businessmen, legal or medical professionals and farmers in small towns who are purchasing small retail centres in order to diversify their income streams.
“There’s a fairly limited commercial property stock available in non-metro locations, so often the investors in these areas are able to achieve fairly attractive rentals on a square metre basis," said Silwanyana.
"We are predominantly seeing this investment being channelled towards the retail space but there are some pockets of interest in industrial and manufacturing premises as well."
One of the primary reasons for this is that more businesses have been looking to purchase buildings for their own use rather than opting to rent their business premises.
Busisiwe Silwanyana, head of business lending at Standard Bank, said the main reason for the increased owner-occupied commercial property deals is that businesses are seeking to shield themselves against annual rental increases which typically escalate at 8% per annum on average.
While the owner-occupied model does expose commercial property buyers to potential interest rate increases, Silwanyana said they can hedge against this risk by opting for Standard Bank’s fixed-rate loans.
“The advantage of going the owner-occupied route is that you are not at the mercy of a landlord’s annual rental increases,” said Silwanyana.
“That’s particularly relevant for businesses that have built up a considerable amount of goodwill with their clients due to the location of their premises."
Certain landlords can use that as leverage to negotiate a far higher rent when your lease expires since they know that moving premises would erode a considerable amount of goodwill with clients or customers.
Commercial property loans are typically granted over periods of 10 years with buyers usually financing between 70% and 75% of the property’s value.
While the majority of owner-occupied commercial property transactions are from businesses looking to purchase an existing building, Silwanyana said that firms that are experiencing significant growth are increasingly looking at building their own bespoke premises.
“When a business looks to build its own premises it is usually a vote of confidence in their long-term future. This is a crucial aspect for us as our model is to look at the quality of the client as well as the building before extending a loan,” said Silwanyana.
“It is also a potentially good omen for the South African economy, as it might be a leading indicator that confidence is building post-recession, with businesses looking to invest rather than sit on cash piles.”
Standard Bank has also seen a considerable increase in small commercial property transactions of between R5m and R10m in non-metropolitan locations.
Silwanyana said this is largely being driven by businessmen, legal or medical professionals and farmers in small towns who are purchasing small retail centres in order to diversify their income streams.
“There’s a fairly limited commercial property stock available in non-metro locations, so often the investors in these areas are able to achieve fairly attractive rentals on a square metre basis," said Silwanyana.
"We are predominantly seeing this investment being channelled towards the retail space but there are some pockets of interest in industrial and manufacturing premises as well."
