I am in the process of buying new land for the company and I was astounded to find land for sale, so cheap as I did. The company has decided on a piece of land in Centurion Pretoria. We were expecting to pay anywhere from R400 to R800 per m2 we finally found land for a nice price.
I was curious as to why people who traditionally would have kept these homesteads or plots would have them on the market so cheap. I looked at the usual culprits and they did not come to light. Not crime, not loss of jobs nor just simple time to move on.
The biggest motivator for people to sell these beautiful pieces of their history was there long-term outlook in the economy of South Africa. Please don’t rush off and think it’s time to go to Australia, they can’t even play Rugby anymore as they could end up in the Klink as they call it or sent up the Swany River
Obviously the people I spoke to were longtime residents and they had the same thread in what they were saying to me. The days of the average citizen of SA would no longer be able to afford to live there as living costs were just getting out of control. Electricity has escalated 60%, fuel up by 80%, food up by 100% all in the last 5 years. This means that a family who spent R8000 a month on those commodities 5 years ago will now spend around R16000 for the same quantity. I know that 90% of South Africans, have only added a poultry R5000 to their income year on year. Yes that’s correct. Most South Africans in the private sector have had an average of 5% increase year on year. We have had a 100% escalation in property tax and 2-4% in personal tax.
After doing some research I found this trend will not stop. The cost of living is set to escalate at least that much again in the next 5 years before our economy will be able to show 5% growth year on year again. Just ask Magnus Heystek he agrees with me, rationalize now so you can maintain or even improve your quality of living.
This leads to where we at Cedar Storage come into rescue the day. With all this land being sold to developers and banks for later development we sit with the challenge of a new beginning in the SA life style. We move from our big luxury homes into more affordable spaces.
The team at Cedar Storage are so lucky to be part of this transition as we can help people change to what our new lives will be without separation anxiety or just getting rid of memories because of less space. We provide people with the best lifestyle storage facilities in South Africa.
So now moving from 300m2 home to 150m2 homes is a breeze. The camping equipment which was to be sold, keep it, the bicycles that were going OLX, keep it, even that trailer or what-ever you want. We have space for you. We knew moving into the 21st Century would be exciting for us all, yes it can be a little scary too.
It is time to look at the good things that have come about to. We can now go to Europe on vacation, we can visit in Mozambique.
It is time to embrace the European way of life in earnest. Have a home just big enough to live comfortably in and more importantly what you can afford. This simplification of life means you can now actually go away for a holiday and spend your whole bonus on catching up debt. That second honeymoon becomes a reality too should you wish.