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Buying a house for the first time can be an intimidating experience. Of course there are a million and one things to consider, and it’s certainly worth taking a look at what those in the know have to say about key points to consider.

Someone who is certainly in the know is Barrie Swart, Head of Property for Gumtree SA, and he says that there are some straightforward ways to make the process of buying a house feel more attainable.

He suggests that buyers start by getting a very clear idea of what is affordable in terms of a bond repayment:

The general rule is that your monthly repayment should not exceed a third of your monthly salary, after tax deductions, and there are easy tools on most banking and property sites to help you with your financial calculations.

He reminds buyers to factor in all the possible costs of transfer duties and fees, essential renovations, removals, and rates and services charges.
Once the budget is fixed, Swart recommends the Gumtree Property Price Checker as the best place to start the search.

The Property Price Checker (HERE) scans information from over 35 000 listings on the Gumtree site to calculate the average price you should be paying in any area.

More from Swart:

The best thing about it is that it enables you to zero in on the region you want to look in and the size of the house you require because there are enormous differences between different types of properties and different markets.

When you consider that Gumtree have over property 100 000 listings it’s obvious that they can offer unique insight, so let’s look at some of the trends they’ve noted.

A Jozi versus Cape Town comparison makes for very interesting reading:

The Gumtree Property Price Checker also tracks average rentals in the same ways, so anyone who is considering buying a property to gain rental income can get a clear idea of their likely return.

Swart says the key to value is to identify up-and-coming suburbs to buy into:

The established areas can be unaffordable but our property markets are dynamic and, with many new buyers in the market, there are places on the rise which could deliver tremendous growth in an investment when the time comes to re-sell.

Ready to dive in and see what insight Gumtree’s database has to offer? Start HERE – good luck.