It's just like the price of cars here, another easy way that they have found to rip of hard working people.
The higher the house price the more commission for estate agents. The more fees charged by attorneys. The more you pay to the bank for your bond. The more taxes you pay, both to local and central government. Once again the average South African has to bend over and accept it with a smile.
Also people have no option but to pay those prices. It's called capitalism.
I am sure that in the UK if you earn 2- 3 000 GBP a month you could still find properties for 50 000, 70 0000 etc. Yes I know that London is expensive, but prices in the country as a whole generally are affordable.
A person earning $ 2 or 3 000 a month in the USA could still buy a house in the states for $ 80 - 100 000.
If you compare income to house prices, most people in the UK, and USA, could afford to buy a home. The difference between income and property prices is not that great.
If you compare income to house prices in South Africa the difference is so great that most people are unable to afford their own homes.
If you earn R 2 - 3 000 a month in South Africa you would be lucky to find a flat under R 200 000 or a house under R 400 000. There is nothing reasonable in the price range 100 - 300 000.
If you equate the R to the $ and GBP as 1 for 1, then South Africans pay 5 or more times for a house than people in the UK and USA.
It's an absolute rip off and a disgrace.
2 comments:
You can compare Apples with Oranges. Perhaps you should have a look at the SA LSM and the UK stats from JRF (Joseph Rowntree Foundation), and you'd realise actually cost of living including housing is still a better deal in SA.
Income is also subjective. A single person earning £2000 a month (you didnt say gross or nett, Im assuming Nett), has a very different disposable income scenario to someone with two or three children and I can assure you that someone earning £2000 a month in the UK with three children will not qualify for a mortgage to buy a suitably sized home. I don't know where in the UK you've been shopping for a £50000 home, but you wont find a house that price unless its uninhabitable and a flat at that price is hard to find, even in the rural countryside. Do you know how minimum wage works in the UK?
Your R/£/$ 1 to 1 comparison is a little confusing. You cant compare R1 to £1 in any way shape or form. In South Africa a litre of petrol at the coast, costs R11.92/l and I paid £1.39(R18.64)/l to fill up my car in Glasgow last night.
Rates and taxes for my 2 bed flat in Glasgow is £1200(R16068)a year. My much nicer home in Northern suburbs Cape Town costs about half of that. In the UK the price of a pack of oranges will buy you a huge bag at Fruit and veg city (now Food lovers market)
The only thing in South Africa that is exorbitant (2nd most expensive globally) is its telecoms. The cost of both fixed and mobile telecoms is daylight robbery. I have a global switch contract in the UK which means I can talk to my family in SA for 3000 minutes a month for R139. And my family in SA can call me at the cost of a local land line Cape Town call. I have a UK cell contract that includes 2000 SMS a month, 3000 minutes and UNLIMITED 3G/HSDPA internet for (£25)R335 a month. No company in SA can nearly match that.
I used to live in London, but for the price of a closet with no windows you can buy a 4 bedroomed house in Melkbosstrand overlooking the beach......
The cost of living is indeed rising in South Africa, but dont make the mistake in believing it is any cheaper or affordable elsewhere.
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