2015 Budget gives to property industry with one hand and takes with the other.

“While the 2015 budget provides welcome relief to buyers of properties in the affordable sector, it is also likely to increase demand in an already stock-short market, particularly on the Cape Peninsula,” says Mike Greeff, CEO of Greeff Properties, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.

“This could lead to an increase in selling prices,” adds Greeff. “For those looking to scale down, the new transfer duties are good news, and they also bode extremely well for the buy-to-let investor, particularly in the current market, which has a very healthy appetite for rentals.” Greeff adds that anyone looking to upgrade to a larger homein order to accommodate a growing family or relocate to a more upmarket area is now going to have to think twice due to higher transfer fees in the bracket around R3 million plus,” says Greeff. “The actual increase in transfer duty on a house priced at R3 million is R10 500 (from R157 000 to R167 500) and it rises incrementally from there, depending on the property price – a R5 million property which used to incur a transfer duty of R317 000 under the old act will now attract a duty of R387 500,” explains Greeff. “It’s likely that we start seeing a slowing down of the selling price escalation we’ve witnessed over the past 18 months or so,” says Greeff. “It’s more important than ever for buyers and sellers to make use of well-informed and qualified estate agentswho are able to provide an accurate set of figures, including all the costs involved in buying or selling, so that there are no nasty aftershocks which can lead to deals falling through when the unexpected costs come to light,” says Greeff.