Orman invests in SA property

For her first international property, Orman has selected an apartment in the über-plush and exclusive The Cliffs development in Northcliff, Johannesburg.

Read more at: http://www.investmentbroker.co.za/news/detailed/12

Showhouse uptick

FROM : Adrienne Hersch

SUBJECT : Showhouses Getting Busier


Most of our agents are reporting a much higher showhouse attendance than was experienced in 2009 or even in 2008, with some properties having as much as 47 potential buyers going through one particular property.

Adrienne Hersch, CEO of ADRIENNE HERSCH PROPERTIES says, “The last two Sundays our agents were inundated with visitors and quite overwhelmed with enquiries, which is a pleasant change to the four or five visitors we had in the past”

Adrienne added, “Our agents found it exhilarating that they had to scramble to get all the names of the visitors, and at the same time dealing with questions from the various interested parties.”


This time of the year is normally the time that people change jobs or children change schools, coupled with the challenges of travelling in the traffic that gets people scouting for something new or closer to work.

It seems as if 2010 started with people feeling definitely more positive about the near future and are prepared to start looking at upgrading or moving to more appropriate housing to suit their needs.

“Buyers are still spoilt for choice, with a lot of homes on the market, but not for too long says Adrienne”. “As soon as there is an equal number of buyers as sellers, we will see a sharp increase in property prices, which we feel will start in the third quarter of 2010.”

Adrienne Hersch 011-728 7013

The Adrienne Hersch year end do - 2009.

The Adrienne Hersch year end do - 2009.

tighting the noose - further regulation of estate agents

Category: Top Stories Date Added: 13 January 2010 LINDA ENSOR

Political Correspondent

NEW legislation to tighten up the regulation of estate agents is on the agenda of the Department of Trade and Industry this year.

A draft policy for the industry will be released to stakeholders later this month for them to make input.

The industry is regulated by the Estate Agencies Affairs Act of 1976, which trade and industry deputy director-general Zodwa Ntuli said was “very backward” and out of date.

In particular, the act did not deal effectively with unscrupulous estate agents who swindled clients out of money and then simply moved on and opened up a new business under a different name, he said.

If estate agents were caught, they could only be charged criminally and even then the fines were “so ridiculously” low that they would not deter anyone as crooks could simply budget for the penalty, which is a fine not exceeding R5000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, or both.

Ntuli also said it was unsatisfactory that the fidelity fund maintained by the Estate Agents Affairs Board to protect consumers — to which all registered estate agents had to contribute — was sometimes used to compensate the clients of fraudulent, unregistered agents who had not contributed to it.

The current act did not address this anomaly.

“We need to create a balance between requiring registered members to contribute to the fund while at the same time empowering the authorities to deal severely with those who are not registered, as they are the ones who are a liability to the industry,” Ntuli said.

The many cracks and loopholes in the system had to be tightened up and the fragmentation of the regulatory regime addressed.

Some aspects of the act could be more appropriately administered by the new Consumer Protection Act.

The lines of responsibility for the training and accreditation of estate agents were also a bit blurred between the trade and industry and housing departments and the Services Sector Education and Training Authority. “What happens now is that you have forum shopping,” Ntuli said. “When things are not clear, people can choose which department to go to, to suit their own purposes. This makes the management and enforcement of this industry a bit difficult.”