Summary by Graham Allan – KZN Chairperson
On 1st March 2023, delegates met at Master Builders Association, Westville, Durban, to attend the 2023 KZN Branch AGM & Seminar. The breakfast meeting was characterized by great networking sessions, discussions with topical discourse around the economic outlook and property market as well as the election of a new Branchex Committee.
Two presentations were made to delegates who attended the workshop preceding the AGM of the KZN Branch.
John Loos, FNB Property Sector Strategist, opened with his presentation titled SA Budget Review and Economic Prospects. Loos focused his presentation on the long-term drivers of the South African economy. Elements of economic super-cycles were identified, and these were illustrated over the time period from 1960 until present-day.
Loos’s message was that short-term thinking and perceptions should not cloud the reality of long-term influences on the economy. In South Africa currently, there is wide-spread negativity on prospects for the nation, but these do not consider the possibility of structural changes that could lead to more positive conditions. Loos provided a range of evidence pointing to a more positive trajectory for the economy.
The presentation to follow, Prospects for the KZN Residential Property Sector, was by Stefan Botha, Director of Rainmaker Marketing.
Botha explained that Rainmaker Marketing has partnered with several developers who have dramatically transformed the landscape of the northern coastal belt of KZN since the 2000s.
Botha detailed the problems that had impacted KZN over the last two years and illustrated the economic impact of these challenges on the residential property market. He showed how developers were reacting to these challenges by styling residential accommodation and residential estates that mirrored the demand in the sector.
Despite the recent challenges, Botha remains positive with the prospects for the area due to its range of world-class features and marketability.
