Key Indicators:	Updated 16 July 2009
Current Prime Rate:	11.0%
Current Repo Rate:	7.5%
Decision of last MPC meeting Jun '09:	No Rate cut
Prediction for next MPC meeting Aug '09:	No Rate cut
Consumer Price Index (CPI) May '09:	8%
Producer Price Index (PPI) May '09:	-3%
STANDARD Bank median price index May '09:	R500 000
ABSA Bank average house prices June '09:
Small (80m²-140m²)	R653 000
Medium (141m²-220m²)	R917 600
Large (221m²-400m²)	R1 381 700
FNB Res. Prop. Barometer(1 to 10) - 2ndQ 09:	4.79
% of properties sold at less than asking price:	86%
Average time property is on the market:	21 weeks
OOBA Average house price: (June '09):	R784 427
Average price 1st time buyer:	R454 400
Average deposit (% of bond) paid:	18.9%
Total % of applications declined:	47.5%

Property Investing in South Africa 2009 
(Source: Property Frontiers)

South Africa is a country with a breathtaking natural landscape and vast opportunities for adventure, either through safari, mountain walking, city or beach life. The natural terrain varies from savannah to snow-covered mountains, forests to swamps, endless beaches and peaceful rivers to bustling towns and cities. Unsurprisingly, there is plenty to explore: vibrant Cape Town, Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, the Cradle of Humankind near Johannesburg, the Kruger National Park, Table Mountain and the Garden Route which comprises 600 km of coastline between Cape Town and the Tsitsikamma Forest. The country has gone through impressive changes over the last fifteen years and its tourism market has opened up significantly. Indeed, visitor numbers increased by 9% in 2007 and were estimated to be worth around €31.2bn, a figure that is expected to soar to €60bn by 2017.  

Economically, South Africa is considered to be an emerging market with an abundant supply of natural resources. The financial, legal, communications, energy and transport sectors are well-developed, and the country has a modern infrastructure. However, growth has not been strong enough to substantially lower South Africa’s high unemployment rate (which was at 24.2% in 2007), and the economic problems from the apartheid era remain serious, especially regarding poverty and a lack of economic empowerment among disadvantaged groups. Economic policy is currently focusing on targeting inflation and liberalizing trade, hoping to increase job growth and household income. GDP growth in 2006 and 2007 was 5%, up from 3.7% in 2004 and 4.5% in 2005, while inflation in 2007 stood at 6.5%. This improvement has been steady, and the country is showing good potential for the future. The Economist Intelligence Unit anticipates that real GDP will accelerate again and the 2008 budget promises infrastructure investment towards railways, harbours and ports whilst $7.7 billion dollars will be directed at improving the generation capacity of Eskom, South Africa’s state-run electricity company.