The 3rd Quarter Cape Metro FNB Residential Property Barometer pointed to a significant jump in activity levels in the region, after a very weak 2nd quarter level.

This suggests that the region is beginning to feel the positive impact of the series of interest rate cuts that took place in the 1st half of 2009.

The Property Barometer is a survey of a sample of estate agents in the major cities of the country regarding their personal experience of market conditions.

The main Barometer question relates to the level of demand activity, and agents are asked to rate the level of demand that they experience on a scale of 1 to 10.

After an initial rise in the first quarter to 4.71, agents estimated activity to have declined back to 4.21 in the second quarter. The 3rd quarter level of 5.82 is thus a significant rise in what was a very weak demand level. The 3rd quarter survey was undertaken in mid-August, after the bulk of the SARB’s 2009 interest rate cuts to date.

The jump in the Western Cape’s activity rating means that the agents surveyed from this region are more upbeat about activity than their Gauteng counterparts, although all regions have seen an improvement.

The 3 major coastal metros, namely eThekwini (5.86), Mandela Bay (5.82), and Cape Town (5.82) are now more upbeat in their estimates of activity compared with Joburg’s 5.47 and Tshwane (5.76).