Sentiment and home price values in many areas of the South African residential property market will be driven not so much by the outcome of the local government elections as by what happens afterwards in terms of service delivery to communities says Bruce Swain, managing director of the 50-franchise Leapfrog Property Group.
 
“Whichever way you look at it, this was essentially a ‘Service Delivery Election’, conducted off the back of a groundswell of civil discontent – and, in some cases, open unrest – about the levels of provision of housing and other services, such as security and health.
 
“Service delivery is fundamental to the growth and stability of the homes sector as a whole – but not least in areas where there is a growing convergence of the top, middle, and lower priced ends of the market spectrum,” says Bruce.
 
“Put another way, as South Africa continues to develop, more and more lower-end residential areas will roll out adjacent, or near, to established urban suburbs. Unless those new settlements are adequately serviced – as indeed they should be – the impact on both home values and harmony in the area as a whole could be negative,” he adds.
 
“Now that the rhetoric has subsided and the votes have been counted, those who have been voted into municipal power would do well to once-and-for-all roll up their sleeves and address service delivery with a sense of urgency,” Bruce concludes.