Academic literature on the topic 'Commercial real estate – South Africa'

Most property development firms who invest in property will need to raise some extra financial support. Unforeseen or unexpected expenses can arise at any point in time during the development process. Calculated decisions should be taken with regards to the financial circumstances for any property development project. Decisions should be taken not only for the present but for the future as well. It is therefore important to understand the market and the current economic conditions before applying for capital to fund a property development project. There several types of finance available to fund property development, these include long term borrowing, short term borrowing, construction loans property development investment trust, second mortgages. There is risk to all of the aforementioned finance available.

In view of the factors influencing and the steps in the design of a Website, building a successful Website will vary from business to business. This study investigates what is required from a small commercial and industrial property and services business to take their business online and create an effective Website. The environment of the property market reflected the role that government plays in the property industry and also the role of the private sector. Marketing in the real estate context indicated that if real estate agents have access to the right type of information, not only can they add value to their own organizations, but they can also capitalize on the same information to create added value for their clients. The elements of the marketing management process include four steps, namely to gather information, to set marketing goals and plan strategy, to organize and implement marketing strategy and to control the marketing activities. Marketing in the online environment showed that the Marketing Mix includes personalisation, privacy, customer services, community, site, security and sales promotion. The principles of online marketing revealed the important role of the customer and customer relationships. An investigation into the difference between e-commerce and online marketing made it clear that online marketing is one component of e-commerce. This study critically analysed the available literature in order to suggest a proposed framework of what should be included in the Website of a small commercial and industrial property and services business. In order to successfully research online marketing of commercial and industrial properties and services in a small business, a basic but thorough understanding of online marketing principles and Website content are important. In this study a qualitative research approach was followed where secondary sources were critically evaluated to design the required framework. Thereafter three Websites of marketing of commercial and industrial properties and services were content analysed to see whether anything else should be added to the framework. This would assist in taking a small business in commercial and industrial properties and services online. The framework suggests that the Website homepage content should include:  Business overview/information Products/services What’s new Search Employment opportunities Interactive feedback Customer service/ assistance Index/directory  Financial facts Links to other sites Online business services/utilities  Guest book Frequently Asked Questions Messages from CEO A purposeful sample of three Websites was then content analysed so as to provide the information necessary to reach the objectives of the study. The following Websites were included in the content analysis: Broll, which operates as a national agency with international associations. The firm renders services (Estate Agency) and does not own property. Bruce McWilliams Industries Pty Ltd is operative in Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and surrounds. It is a family business that owns property, which it develops and markets itself. Seeff is a national agency. It renders services (estate agency) and does not own property. Lastly, a narrative of a small commercial and industrial property and services business was created by means of document analysis of a specific business. The researcher was allowed to study the documents and diaries of the business in order to provide a narrative for this business. This narrative can be used as part of the envisaged Website for the business.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Owners of directly held, large commercial properties mostly face problems regarding liquidity and sometimes higher-risk exposure due to large properties dominating their property portfolio. • Exit vehicles in the listed property sector on the JSE are gaining momentum but are, however, still facing the negative impact of overall bear market conditions. • An exit vehicle in the bond market can serve as an alternative, where a Limited Purpose Company/Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) acquires a rental income stream from a portfolio of properties and issues bonds. The funds raised from bond investors, who focus on the credit rating of the income stream and not the properties, are then used to acquire the property assets. • Current market conditions, favour an asset-backed securitisation of property leases. Low interest rates and other factors in the current market, as discussed in this document, ensure lower costs of debt and easier access to capital when funds are raised on the bond market, relative to the equity markets, with highly geared structures not necessarily causing a negative impact on the credit rating (80% - 90% gearing possible with A - AA local credit rating). • Usually a promoter, a Merchant Bank and a few institutions/ pension funds are involved. Example: Institution X will be requested to take up an equity stake in the fund by selling some properties or stakes therein (Institution X buildings) and receiving payment in a combination of cash, junior bonds and equity. The benefits to Institution X are discussed on page 39.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Eienaars van groot kommersiële eiendomme wat direk besit word, ondervind normaalweg probleme rakende likiditeit en verhoogde risiko a.g.v. die groot eiendomme wat hulle portefeulje domineer. • JEB (Johannesburgse Aandelebeurs) genoteerde maatskappye, as uitgangstrategie vir die verkoop van eiendom, is 'n oplossing, maar beer mark toestande verlaag die moontlikheid. • 'n Maatskappy genoteer op BESA (Effektemark) kan as uitgang- strategie dien, waar die voormelde maatskappy met beperkte aanspreeklikheid die huurinkomstestroom van 'n portefeulje van eiendom aankoop en effekte uitgee vir die finansiering van die transaksie. Die beleggers wie die effekte koop, fokus op die kredietgradering van die effekte en nie die eiendom as onderliggende bate nie. • Huidige mark omstandighede verbeter die moontlikheid van 'n bategesekureerde sekuritusasie van eiendomshuurkontrakte. Lae rentekoerse en ander faktore wat in hierdie dokument bespreek word, verseker laer koste van kapitaal en makliker toegang tot fondse relatief tot die aandelemarkte. Hoë hefboom-finansiering is moontlik sonder te groot impak op die kredietgradering. (A-AA kredietgradering moontlik met 80%-90% skuld) • Normaalweg is 'n promoter, 'n beleggingsbank en 'n paar institusies/ pensioenfondse betrokke. Bv. Institusie X word versoek om aandeelhouding op te neem in 'n maatskappy deur eiendomme te verkoop aan die voormelde maatskappy en betaling te ontvang in die vorm van 'n kombinasie van kontant, junior effekte en aandele. Die voordele vir Institusie X word bepreek op bl. 39

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT’s) provide certain benefits for investors as opposed to them directly investing in property. Many countries worldwide have already established tax systems for REIT’s which give natural persons and companies the benefit of not outlaying substantial capital, and provide certain tax dispensations to them. The concept of a REIT is new to South Africa. The vehicles that have been used by investors in the past to invest indirectly in property have been Property Unit Trusts (PUTs) and Property Loan Stock Companies (PLS). These different types of entities have had different taxation rules applied to them, as they differed in legal entity, i.e. a trust versus a company. The different types of entity were historically a deterrent to foreign investors who preferred to invest in countries that had the REIT structure and certain tax dispensations. The National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) decided to collaborate in this matter so as to encourage foreign property investment, and launched with effect from 1 April 2013, a new REIT tax dispensation for investors in property portfolios. The REIT created a unified regime in South Africa. All portfolios wanting to call themselves REITs had to qualify under certain requirements, and then they would be eligible for the new section 25BB tax dispensation. The South African REIT market is relatively new when compared to the Australian REIT market, which is the second largest in the world. The Australian REIT market has been around for approximately forty three years more than the South African REIT market. The Australian REIT regime is analysed in terms of how REITs are taxed in that country. The final chapter provides a comparison between the South African and Australian REIT regimes. The major differences are identified as to how each country taxes the REITs and the respective shareholders, and from these a few proposals are made which could improve the South African REIT regime in order for it to stand up to worldwide scrutiny.

Magister Legum - LLM<br>South Africa’s main anti-money laundering legislation consists of 2 pieces of legislation, namely: The Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA)1 and the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).2 Money Laundering is often defined as the concealment of funds or property which has been obtained as the result of unlawful activity. It is also defined as giving the unlawfully obtained funds the appearance of legality when in actuality the funds or property is obtained unlawfully. POCA defines unlawful activity which includes any criminal offence in South African law, whether it has occurred in South Africa or elsewhere.3 Any person who has the knowledge of the aforementioned money laundering act or ought to have the knowledge may be guilty of an offence.

Purpose – The considerations of non-real estate private organisations in South Africa when outsourcing their corporate real estate management (CREM) functions are examined. The investigation seeks to determine the elements that impact the decision to outsource CREM functions; the characteristics looked for in service providers and if there is a mismatch between what corporate entities desire from CREM outsourcing and what service providers deliver. Design – The study is grounded on a broad analysis of the literature globally and locally; as well as data collected through semi-structured interviews to build four (4) case studies; to gather information about a small set of organisations, within the Johannesburg Metropolitan area of South Africa, on their CREM outsourcing activities. Inductive content analysis will be used to analyse the data collected. Findings – All the organisations outsource parts of their CREM. However, the incidence of CREM outsourcing has neither increased nor decreased in the last three (3) years. Four (4) CREM services are outsourced; facilities management is the most frequently outsourced, followed by subject matter expertise in second and real estate management and transaction management in joint third. The majority of the organisations adhere to a global outsourcing strategy, as opposed to a local or no strategy. Correspondingly, the majority of the organisations have a formal guideline. Seven (7) motives or drivers for CREM outsourcing were uncovered. Access to technical expertise and flexibility were both in first place, followed by cost savings and lack of internal resources in joint second and access to local expertise, focus on core business value chain activities and risk mitigation in shared third. South African organisations identify service providers through four (4) mechanisms: firstly a request for proposals (advertising), direct approach in second and associate recommendations and third-party search in joint third. Seventeen (17) characteristics were identified that influence the selection of a service provider. Of greatest weight is references/reputation, relevant experience, the amount of fee charged and technical expertise in joint first. In joint second; local experience, understanding the client’s organisation, flexible service terms, integrity of approach, regulatory compliance and business values and ethos. This is followed by service provider capacity, individual capability, unconflicted, strong management capability, transparency, strong advisory capability and trust in shared third. The majority of the organisations judged CREM outsourcing successful and twelve (12) attributes were identified that impact the success of CREM outsourcing. Strong advisory capability dominated the list, followed by understanding the client’s organisation and technical expertise in mutual second place. In shared third place, unconflicted, strong management capability, professional integrity, market knowledge value-add, delivering the pledged service, flexible service terms, responsiveness, cost savings and transparency. Practical Implications – A strengthened and grounded understanding of the considerations of non-real estate private organisations in South Africa within the process of CREM outsourcing, will provide an empirical foundation upon which service providers may base their strategic positioning within the local market.

Thesis (S.M. in Real Estate Development)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Real Estate Development in Conjunction with the Center for Real Estate, 2013.<br>This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.<br>Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (page 123).<br>Since 1994, approximately three million homes have been built for lower income households in South Africa, but as a result of population growth, immigration, increasing urbanization and systemic inefficiencies, such as corruption, the backlog of formal housing units stands at almost 1.5 million. This persistent unmet need for low-income and affordable housing is putting tremendous pressure on South African leaders to more efficiently implement the policies they have created and take a new approach to this decades old problem. The purpose of this thesis is to develop an understanding of the South African affordable housing market and the factors that are contributing to the chasm that exists between the demand for affordable housing and the limited supply of stock in this sector of the market. The study focuses on four major drivers -- three can be considered conventional market drivers and are land reform, construction processes and technology and access to financing. The fourth driver is an unconventional but significant factor and that is, corruption and its economic and societal impact. Of these four issues the most critical are land reform, due to well-designed but poorly executed policies, and corruption due to its profound impact on the affordable housing market. The seeming inability of the South African government to make effective progress in meeting the extreme shortfall in housing for lower income populations is leading to increased incidences of undeveloped, well-located land being informally settled, and is creating unrest in the population and political instability. This thesis discusses the discrete challenges within the land, construction and finance sectors, with special attention given to the industry-wide crippling force of corruption, which was uncovered during in-person interviews with South African developers, businessmen, educators and students. The author outlines potential solutions to mitigate corruption's impact through strengthened eradication efforts combined with economic approaches based on the concept of double marginalization.<br>by Marcella M. Barriére.<br>S.M.in Real Estate Development

Thesis (MTech (Human Resource Management))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 2003<br>South Africa is a country that encompasses numerous population groups and cultures. The country has been embroiled in controversy since the beginning of the 20th century, notably for its human rights violations and abuse of the majority of its people; namely Blacks, Coloureds and Indians. The ruling parties since its inception as the Union of South Africa in 1910, until the demise of the National Party government in 1994, has ensured bias to the White minority population group. This favouritism was brought about politically and legislatively to protect Whites, reserve jobs and ensure segregation for the various population groups that were considered unequal, as it favoured Whites only. The country's first democratic elections in 1994 brought about a change of political will that warranted appropriate action, in order to address the imbalances of the past, for all those who were historically, previously disadvantaged. Programmes of affirmative action were required to redress these imbalances and provide necessary opportunities. The vast majority of South Africans, namely Blacks, therefore needed employment, housing and recreational facilities as previously they were not afforded many prospects. The researcher wanted to establish the state of the Black residential property market in the Western Cape, including the prospects for Black estate agents. Accordingly, an understanding of the political background of the last century was required. In order to implement Affirmative Action programmes in the real estate industry, a basic understanding of Affirmative Action was essential. The tasks and duties of estate agents had to be clarified and the position of the real estate industry with regards to the various population groups in the Western Cape was also deemed crucial. The researcher accordingly designed a questionnaire in order to conduct a survey to test public perceptions and attitudes. The researcher also concluded interviews with executives and principals representing the real estate industry. A focus group was utilised to discuss the results of the survey and they provided the researcher with qualitative data. The researcher combined this secondary qualitative data with primary quantitative data in order to develop a model which would assist the industry and prospective Black estate agents. The author believes that this model would be able to substantially benefit all the stakeholders in the real estate industry. Furthermore, the researcher is of the opinion that if this model and the recommendations are implemented, the residential market for the Western Cape would evolve naturally and Black estate agents would be in demand.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Timesharing is one of the sectors of the tourism industry that has grown at a tremendous rate in the recent past. In South Africa, after adverse publicity and severe internal conflict in the early years, the timeshare industry is growing as this way of holidaying becomes more popular. Much is also expected of the tourism industry as a major contributor towards improving the socio-economic situation in this country. It is therefore essential that geographers and more specifically geographical information system specialists get involved in research on timeshare and related topics. This thesis investigates the potential use of geographical information systems (GIS) in the timeshare industry in South Africa. The main focus of the research is on the development of a timeshare information system (TIS). The TIS was developed by using the ArcView GIS programme and Avenue programming language and it incorporates the points system as the most popular timeshare type in South Africa. The main aim of the TIS is to find possible holiday resort destinations within South Africa that will satisfy the timeshare owner's holiday needs, at the touch of a button. To produce these results the user is asked a series of questions and he/she is expected to make some selections. This information is then processed to make it possible for the scripts that have been compiled to extract the correct results from the destination database. This comprehensive database has been compiled from existing sources. The final results are then shown to the user on regional maps of South Africa. These maps have been compiled beforehand for use during the programming phase, but also for the purpose of doing location and spatial analysis. In conclusion, the results have been tested by means of a case example. The results produced by the TIS have been verified as being correct. Although the TIS is not ready for the timeshare market at this stage it could, with slight adjustments, be of use and is a positive step in the right direction and is in line with modem trends in the industry. Keywords ArcView / Avenue / Exchange companies / Geographical information systems (GIS) / Graphical user interface / Points system / Resort Condominium International (RCI) / South Africa / Timeshare destination database / Timeshare industry / Timeshare owners / Timeshare resort facilities / Timeshare resorts / Timesharing / Tourism geography<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Eiendomstyddeling is een van die sektore van die toerisme-industrie wat tans wêreldwyd die meeste groei toon. In Suid-Afrika waar eiendomstyddeling aanvanklik gekniehalter is deur swak publisiteit en interne konflik, toon die bedryf besondere groei soos dié manier van vakansie hou, meer gewild raak. Baie word van die toerismebedryf verwag om 'n beduidende bydrae te maak tot die verbetering van sosio-ekonomiese toestande in die land. Juis hierom is navorsing oor tyddeling en verwante onderwerpe besonder belangrik. Geograwe en meer spesifiek geografiese inligtingstelselspesialiste kan in dié opsig belangrike rolspelers wees. Hierdie navorsingsverhandeling speur die gebruiksmoontlikhede van geografiese inligtingstelsels (GIS) in die tyddeelindustrie in Suid-Afrika na. Die hoof fokus van die navorsing val op die ontwikkeling van 'n tyddeelinligtingstelsel (TIS) met behulp van ArcView GIS programmatuur en Avenue programmeertaal. Hierdie TIS poog om die keuse van 'n geskikte vakansiebestemming in Suid-Afrika vir die tyddeeleienaar en potensiële koper te vergemaklik en inkorporeer in die proses die puntestelsel as tyddeeltipe. Die program stel aan die gebruiker 'n reeks vrae en seleksie opsies, waaruit dan 'n resultaat van oorde wat aan sy/haar vakansiebehoeftes voldoen, aan hom/haar voorgehou word. Hierdie resultate word getrek uit 'n omvattende tyddeelbestemmingsdatabasis wat uit bestaande bronne saamgestel is. Hierdie databasis word op verskeie stadiums deur die loop van die gebruiksproses deur die opgestelde programkode ondervrae. Tesame hiermee word die resultate ruimtelik en nie-ruimtelik aan die gebruiker vertoon. Hierdie ruimtelike komponent hang nou saam met die kartering van die tyddeeloorde in Suid-Afrika, 'n proses waartydens die ligging en verspreiding van hierdie oorde ook aandag kry. Ter afsluiting word die resultate aan die hand van 'n toetsvoorbeeld geverifieer. Die TIS lewer bevredigende resultate en hoewel dit nie in sy huidige formaat gereed is vir die tyddeelmark nie, is dit 'n positiewe stap en in lyn met moderne neigings in die industrie. Trefwoorde ArcView / Avenue / Blybeurtbedryf / Geografiese inligtingstelsels (GIS) / Grafiese koppelvlak / Puntestelsel / Resort Condominium International (RCI) / Suid-Afrika / Toerismegeografie / Tyddeelbelang / Tyddeelbestemmingsdatabasis / Tyddeeleienaars / Tyddeelindustrie / Tyddeeloorde / Tyddeeloordfasiliteite / Tyddeling / Uitruilondernemings

Includes bibliographical references.<br>In this dissertation, the author focuses on the practical tax issues relating to the recently adopted South African Real Estate Investment Trust tax dispensation, by discussing international principles of Real Estate Investment Trust taxation and two foreign regimes, i.e. the US and UK Real Estate Investment Trust regimes which, it is understood, were used as a basis for the South African legislation. In addition, the dissertation discusses the details of the South African property investment vehicles regime pre- 1 April 2013, and the new Real Estate Investment Trust tax regime applicable from 1 April 2013. Furthermore, it looks at suggestions and possible improvement to the taxation of Real Estate Investment Trusts in South Africa and whether the proposed amendments released by National Treasury, on 4 July 2013, satisfactorily address the issues raised in this dissertation.