Tag: income loss

The myriad challenges that COVID-19 has forced on our lives have been stressful, none more so than for many working professionals. Based on our 2021 Stress Index, fear of loss of income and the fear of losing a family member to COVID-19 went head-to-head as the biggest stress factors of the last year.

In the wake of the pandemic, many face the reality of their meticulous credit records being negatively affected by the whirlwind of last year’s economic instability. Landlords and tenants alike have been affected due to income loss, leading to missed bond payments, downsizing and, unfortunate, if unavoidable evictions.

The lowering of interest rates that formed part of government’s response to COVID-19 have been a huge help to most South Africans as they faced the combined challenge of a loss of income while still needing to keep up their repayments on their home, vehicle and personal loans and other credit agreements.

Our Rental Index annual review for 2020 has confirmed the devastating effects of lockdown on the rental market in South Africa. In the final quarter of 2020, rental growth (measured year on year) was even lower than in Q2 and Q3 of 2020.

2020 challenged all of us. The most severe economic contraction in decades triggered vast monetary accommodation and fiscal support packages that altered the investment landscape. Now, as we approach 2021, the promise of COVID-19 vaccines is game changing. It encourages us to anticipate a return to pre-pandemic activities.

If you are reading this, you are well on your way towards surviving one of the most cataclysmic events of our lifetime; one that is forever going to reshape the way we view the world and drive home the importance of prioritising sustainability and all it entails during the years ahead.

The role of the property manager continues to evolve. Once thought of as 'merely' rent collectors, it became all too evident that the role of a good property manager had progressed to encompass that of asset management. Now, with the effects of COVID-19 being keenly felt by businesses the world over, the role of the property manager has evolved once more to now include mediation as a key skill.

The pandemic brought with it a slew of realisations for business owners, one such an epiphany is how most organisations need fewer employees to remain functional. But using COVID-19 as a reason for retrenching a surplus of employees constitutes as unfair dismissal.

Following the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) decision to cut its lending rate by 0.25%, we will be reducing our prime lending rate to 7% from 7.25% with effect from Friday 24 July. The recent FNB/BER Consumer Confidence Index revealed an alarming but understandable slump in confidence, which has not been seen since 1985.

Okay, I have decided to nail my colours to the mast on COVID-19. And before you ask… No, I am not an epidemiologist or economist. Nor am I a politician with votes to garner, or a journalist who revels in sensationalism. I am just an opinionated individual with no power other than to express my opinion. And I am angry and saddened and sound it.