While the current economic climate has grinded many world economies to a virtual standstill, it still offers opportunities to those individuals who are in a strong enough position to invest. And real estate for sale remains one of the safest investments, provided that you will be able to honour your bond. Currently a few vital things are currently lined up to ensure a good deal for buyers. Following the start of financial crises, the prices of real estate for sale took a dip, especially in countries where the property market was overvalued. Here in South Africa only a slight dip was experienced, after which prices started to climb again. But this time it is growing at a much slower and sustainable rate than prior to the crash. This means that property will currently be priced much more realistically than before. Many property owners desperate to sell also know that because of the economic climate, the property market is currently a very slow one. They will take this into consideration when pricing their property. And this knowledge will also come into play when bargaining on the property starts. Banks are currently only starting to be more generous when it comes to lending out money. However, there has been a slight uptake in the handing out of loans. You are especially likely to be helped with a loan if you do have a deposit of around 10% to 15%. Lastly, in November, the governor of the Reserve Bank, Gill Marcus, once again cut the lending rate to banks by 0,5%, bringing the current lending rate to the lowest levels the country has seen in over 30 years. This means you will be able to negotiate a very good lending rate on a home loan. There are therefore currently three aspects working for the buyer. First of all, the prices of real estate for sale are slightly depressed, and buyers could therefore pick up bargains. Banks have started handing out loans again, and lending money in South Africa has never been as cheap.