Lookout: The category of Best Apartment was won by LKC Holdings for the Rialto Bay development on the Strand beachfront, a project it has undertaken in association with Invest Afrique. According to the developer, the competition required plans to have been approved by the municipality, from which entries were judged. The beachfront development is still underway and the computer graphic was supplied by the developer.

First-timers move in
MACASSAR Village Estate, sold and marketed by Rawson Properties, recently handed over to a proud new owner the keys of her brand new home. Denise Mouton purchased two units in the development.

Tips on getting a house sold
IRRESPECTIVE of property market trends, many people are required to sell, but may be unsure of how to go about it without losing too much money.

New complex is 'ideal for holiday accommodation'
CONSTRUCTION of a new access-controlled complex in Hibiscus Road, Gordon's Bay, has been completed, according to property marketer Multi-Projects.

Award for Rialto Bay
STRAND apartment complex Rialto Bay, a development currently being erected in Beach Road, has been named among the winners of the European Property Awards.

Hotel gets bugged
ONE of Somerset West's most luxurious hotels has mites. And worms, and a whole host of other creepy crawlies - but this time, they're welcome.

Developer opens US office
A LOCAL property developer has gone in search of investors overseas. Realcor Cape announced last week it is to open an office in the US.

"Sectional title management failures can be limited"
THE application for liquidation of a well known managing agency Sectional Title Administrators CC ("STA") based in Cape Town, is only one in what has been a series of managing agent industry failures throughout South Africa, says Prof Graham Paddock in a press release from sectional title specialist firm Paddocks, which is published here.

"Investors see opportunity for second homes"
THE current buyers' market is stimulating demand among investors looking to buy a second home, says the Chas Everitt International property group in its latest online newsletter, Property Signpost.

Builders' mood takes a dip
THE FNB Civil Construction Confidence Index, compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), dropped from a level of 76 in the first quarter of 2008 to an index value of 71 in the second quarter.

'You can buy property now'
PURCHASING property may seem even more impossible for many South Africans now than a few years ago, but the basics of saving still apply, says Betterbond sales director Marsha Haupt.

Registration time for signs
AS from next week, estate agents and auctioneers will again be required to register individually with the municipality for permission to display property marketing boards and directional signage on council property.

Companies hit the road
BUSINESSES are trading the traffic madness and concrete jungles for lifestyle oriented office parks, says the marketer of an office complex at Technopark near Stellenbosch.

'Profit from property is still possible'
IT'S time for consumers to stop focusing on the immediate problems in the real estate sector and start focusing on the bigger picture.

Affordable homeowners are 'shell-shocked'
THE ongoing pattern of interest rate rises is making affordable housing increasingly less affordable, and homeowners in this market sector are financially shell-shocked.

'SA economy hit a blind-spot'
THIS time last year, things looked rosy for SA; the country's top economic experts were forecasting robust growth of around 5% per annum. In their own, December 2007, forecasting publication, property economists Rode & Associates forecast great potential in real office and industrial rents over the next few years, predicting robust demand for office and industrial space that was expected to keep vacancies low and nominal market rentals growing in excess of building-cost inflation.

"To sell, stand out," says SW agent
SELLING a house may be tougher than in the past, but it's still possible if buyers acknowledge the realities, says Steve Caradoc-Davies, who heads up local estate agency Homenet Platinum.

'Invest in Somerset West'
WHILST the Somerset Mall has added value to Somerset West, there are many local residents who would love to see the Somerset West city centre revamped. One company that has long been campaigning for such a revamp is Dugmore Properties.

Spanish Farm land 'not quite sold'
THE R30-million sale of a 50-hectare swathe of land in January might have been the biggest residential property deal in recent history - had it actually happened. As it turns out, the claim by Seeff Somerset West never materialised.

Are you tough enough?
YOU'RE thinking of selling your house without an agent. But can you really pull it off?