2024 is ending, and who doesn’t need a dash of good news to put us in good spirits for next year?
Firstly, September brought a significant development—the first interest rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank in seven meetings, albeit only 0.25 basis points. This is reassuring, as another cut is expected as soon as 21 November.
Then, in October, published numbers for property price growth showed that the Eastern Cape had the second-best growth in property prices, only slightly off from the Western Cape (16,4%), which had the best growth.
This indicates a healthy property market, a positive sign for the economy, as it often reflects consumer confidence and investment.
Lastly, earlier this week, we heard that the Eastern Cape Development Corporation launched an R546 million refurbishment programme for its commercial, industrial, and residential properties in Mthatha, Butterworth, Komani, and Buffalo City.
These developments positively impact the Eastern Cape economy. The ECDC’s refurbishment programme is a significant investment that will improve infrastructure and attract more businesses to the region.
This development aligns well with the property sector’s encouraging growth nationally for the first six months of 2024, which stood at 2,9% for the first six months of 2024, according to Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana’s latest medium-term policy statement (see https://bit.ly/4ertpMZ).
