Deacon,

I have been looking for a house to buy for the past six months and I can assure you that the house prices have NOT come down in any which way. And I am sure that agents are taking us for a ride but sellers are also trying to make as much as possible on the sale of their house and they seem to think they can ask inflated prices (no doubt because the agent encourages them to do so).

Posted 25 Jun 2009 by Arwen

Yes but isnt it so that the bank must first go and valuedate the house ? if it is overpriced I think the bank cant give the potential buyer the loan ? I dont know ?

Posted 25 Jun 2009 by another

In any sale there is always two prices the asking price and the actual selling price. For instance your house is valued at N$600000 but you want a N$1000000 for it. That gives you a bargaining gap of N$400000. So someone comes and looks at your house and wants to give you N$800000 for it. Thus you make N$200000 on your house. The percentage that FNB might be talking about is the asking price reducing your value to lets say N$550000 but you still ask a N$1000000 for it. Thus the prices you see at the real estate and booklets do not change and wont change.

Posted 25 Jun 2009 by Lucid

We have also been looking for a house to buy, at last found one, not exactly what we want but affordable and has potential to build on later. But now the thing is that the bank only pays the valuated value, all well but now we need to cough up the money (cash) for the transfer fees and lawyers, where must we get that money from? It will be about 70 000!!!! Who has that kind of money? And if we scrape that money together, we have no savings left if something should happen!
They (those selling houses and the banks) make it extremely difficult for us to own anything!

And I agree!!! RUBBISH that the house prices have come down! Most, almost all, houses in Whk a normal person cannot afford! Where are we supposed to live? Rent prices are just as shocking!!!!!!

I almost passed out when I read about FNB's so called survey! Maybe you should try again FNB, maybe you are just trying to make us dreamers more positive but we aren't stupid!

Thanks Deacon for bringing it up!

Posted 25 Jun 2009 by Dune-Bug

House prices have defintley not come down, and will not come down due to demand vs. supply in this town.

And you can blame it on whomever you like, it will not change.

In a lot of instances a seller goes and has his house evaluated and the puts it on the market at the valuation price, and if it is not registered in a CC you will have to pay your 8% transfer on top of that plus your bond costs (the bank nails you for taking out a loan from them by charging the bond costs, or admin fees, which partially go to the conveyancing attorney, and the bank then screws you with their ultra high interest rates as well).

And if the seller decides to use an estate agent the agent obviously wants to earn something as well, so you have to pay commission (that is supposed to be included in the valuation price, together with your transfer cost).

But greedy home owners want to make a maximum profit so they want the valuation price in their pocket (sometimes home owners just pick a random price without getting a valuation done, which often leads to a much higher price than the actual valuation), but still want to sell through an agent, who then has to in most instances add his commission on top of the valuation price plus the government wants their cut as well, so you pay the 8% transfer duty on top of the valuation price.

And the bank does not pay more than what their mostly under trained, inexperienced staff member doubling as valuator values the property for.

If sellers would be prepared to offer their property at valuation price including the commission, plus transfer, agents could take lower commissions, houses would be sold faster, agents can move onto the next property to be sold, and everyone would be happy.

Posted 27 Jun 2009 by hbsnam

I agree totally on the fact that prices on property are not coming down. With the ecomony and the current position that most of the working group is in I do wonder how everyone pays for ridiculour pricings. If FNB states that there is a 17% decrease in property, it is a bit hard to believe how that is possible.

HBSNAM's conclusion sounds easy, but I doubt if there are many agents willing to take a lower share of commissions.

Posted 27 Jun 2009 by Summersnow

Summersnow, the way I see it, if agents would take less commission (if the commission could be included in the actual valuation price), then agents would (possibly) sell a property faster, meaning they could sell more houses a month that on average, so maybe not more or the same commission as on on sale, but quicker sales.

Posted 27 Jun 2009 by hbsnam

never ever believe any report by any bank in Namibia.

as a bank, they wud want to attract customers and telling people that homes are cheaper would make us want to buy. i agree with all of you, house prices are still ridiculously calculated! and the places arent even furnished.

Now i say!! Namibia- DONT BUY! Wait for next year-2010- when property values are expected to have dropped even more. This so called 'recession' hasn't even started affecting us in Namibia.

Posted 13 Jul 2009 by stilo