Online traffic during July indicates that interest in the property market in South Africa is regaining impetus. Property web giant Privateproperty.co.za reported a record month last month, reaching new highs in both mobile and online web traffic. Audited statistics from Nielsen’s reveal that www.privateproperty.co.za received more than 490 000 unique visitors and over 9.9 million page impressions, cementing their status as South Africa’s busiest property website. Traffic on their mobi-site also reached a new record with more than 127 000 unique visitors, making it the busiest mobile property site in the country, and is in fact now one of the busiest property portals in the country in its own right. The increase in activity was somewhat expected, Private Property’s CEO, Justinus Adriaanse, says that he is cautiously optimistic about the implications. “Although the recovery of the property market is taking longer than we’d hoped, the sudden spike in interest following the Soccer World Cup is an encouraging sign that the market is turning.” The road to recovery for the South African property market is expected to be a relatively slow one, though recent developments are prompting increased interest. “The current repo rate is the lowest it’s been in years, which is encouraging buyers to re-enter the market. Although the banks are still implementing strict credit criteria, there is an increase in the number of loans being granted. In addition, the country is being buoyed by the positive sentiment that has spun off the World Cup.”
