Gerhard Kotzé, MD of the RealNet national estate agency group, says there are several aspects of the new Budget that will be beneficial to homebuyers and homeowners in SA, and will help to increase property demand and values going forward.
"The first of these is the news that tax revenue collected in the past year was R93bn higher than expected.
"This enabled government to budget for R13bn worth of tax relief for individuals and businesses, including:
- an increase in the transfer duty threshold to R1,1m, which will especially benefit first-time buyers;
- an increase in the personal income tax threshold to R95 750, which will save consumers some money; and
- a hold on any increase in the general fuel levy or the road accident fund levy, which will help keep transport costs down, and help more existing homeowners to make ends meet."
A second positive element of the Budget for homeowners is the offer of a one-year tax rebate of 25% of any expenditure on solar panels, even though this is capped at R15 000.
"Even more exciting, though, is the two-year incentive on the table for small businesses to invest in renewable/ alternative energy generation. They can reduce their taxable income by 125% of whatever they spend to generate their own power in this way, and there is no limit at this stage. What is more, government is providing guarantees on Bounce Back loans that will make it easier to obtain bank finance for their installations.
"We foresee that this will lead to the creation of significant extra capacity by businesses, which could then all be fed back into the national grid to help relieve the current shortfall of 4000 to 6000MW and end loadshedding."
Thirdly, says Kotzé, the massive allocations for expenditure on other infrastructure such as roads, harbours, dams, bridges and water supply systems will not only be a huge driver of job creation and home buying capacity, but will also help to improve the quality of life in many areas, promote the development of new housing stock and make them attractive to homebuyers.
"In tandem with this, we welcome the increased allocations to the entities fighting crime and corruption in SA. There is a direct correlation between a positive perception of the country and a positive property market. And that perception depends on consumer and business confidence in personal safety and good governance as well as the prospects for economic growth."
