Surprising stats

**Dave A** · 24-Sep-09, 04:16 PM

Not so much surprising as good news worth sharing:

It is reported that adult smoking prevalence in South Africa has fallen from 32% in 1995 down to 22% in 2006. (www.health24.com, September 2009)

**Dave A** · 21-Oct-09, 11:20 AM

54% of rural households in South Africa have a monthly household income of R1,400 or more, while 54% of urban households have a monthly household income of R5,000 or more. (AMPS 2009 RA)

**Frankincense** · 03-Nov-09, 08:06 PM

....when the highways are layed desolate....and the humans began to eat the humans....then shall they know "generic economic principles".....

**Dave A** · 10-Dec-09, 08:04 PM

Electricity is currently being provided to 80% of South African households, up from 50% in 1995. (EU Municipal Outreach, Newsletter 17, April 2009

That's quite an improvement. How many power stations did we add in that time?

**Alan** · 11-Dec-09, 11:19 AM

Ooookay, how many of those new connections are actually paying for the service?

**Dave A** · 21-Dec-09, 04:36 PM

Over the period 1997-2008, house prices in South Africa increased by 389%. In Australia, the figure is 163%. (www.economist.com) (2009-04-09)

So was our property price boom a bubble?

**mark@suitegum.co.za** · 23-Dec-09, 05:13 AM

Originally Posted by Dave A

So was our property price boom a bubble?

No. It was the upside of BEE and similar policies. The previously disenfranchised are gaining an economic foothold and creating a demand in a limited supply market.

A bubble bursting would lead to losses in the region of 50% of value. not the single digit contraction (at worst) we have seen here in the last 18 months.

"In 2003 the average price of a home in Detroit was almost $98,000; this October it was $15,000" - The Economist December 19th 2009, page 77.

Pop.

**Dave A** · 23-Dec-09, 07:45 AM

I don't disagree entirely. By international pricing standards we started out underpriced and price-wise we've seen something closer to a correction than a burst bubble.

But on the flip side volumes are exceptionally thin. Is our property really priced to the market at the moment, or are prices being propped up by the underlying debt?

**mark@suitegum.co.za** · 23-Dec-09, 10:17 AM

Well a burst bubble would manifest itself in massive volume to start with. Thin volumes indicate bargain buyers. People are sufficiently liquid to resist a forced sale, and those sales that are being consumated are probably in two camps; controlled, marginal sales by the purchasers of bargain deals selling out of their old home, and bargain buyers on the foreclose market, pushing for low prices, and thereby forcing the average down.