Durban - Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana’s announcement in last week’s National Budget that the brackets of the transfer duty table will be increased by 10% is welcome news for aspirant home buyers, according to Andrew Golding, the CEO of Pam Golding Property Group.
From a residential property perspective, Golding said this increase would allow buyers of properties below R1.1 million to avoid any transfer duty payments.
“This will in some measure help make home ownership more accessible for first-time buyers, particularly as the average price paid by first-time home buyers, according to ooba (a home loan comparison service), currently stands at R1.13 million as at January,” he said.
According to ooba, applications from first-time home buyers rebounded to 47.7% in January this year, following a low of 45.8% (December last year), which was the lowest reading since early 2017. These stats were the cumulative impact of repeated interest rate hikes on household finances.
Golding also welcomed the introduction of tax measures to encourage businesses and individuals to invest in renewable energy and increase electricity generation.
“However, it is of concern that the overall cost to individuals for installing rooftop solar panels is beyond the reach of the majority of South Africans. In addition, this incentive is available for just one year, and for only 25% of the investment, up to a maximum of R15 000,” he noted.
In addition, Golding said the group would have liked to have seen tax relief measures further extended to individuals investing in a range of additional costs.
These include gas stoves, generators, inverters, UPS devices, surge-protection devices, battery-powered LED lighting, the costs of purchasing and running generators, and batteries – including those used for security purposes, among others.
“Surely such items – which carve a chunk out of household disposable income, and which have become a necessity amid the national state of disaster declared for the energy crisis – should be considered for tax relief for financially over-burdened consumers,” said Golding.