OVER 1 100 PROPERTY TRANSFERS IN 2018

MBABANE – Property development punters had a busy year in 2018.  An independent analysis by the Business Desk on the basis of four reports issued by the Deeds Registry, has uncovered that nearly 1 300 immovable properties exchanged hands in 12 months.

To be more specific, the Deeds Registry reported that it registered 1 103 deeds of transfer.  A deed of transfer is an instrument by which ownership of registered property like land is conveyed from its seller to its buyer.

The registry further reported that 24 crown grants were recorded in the period between January and December 2018. Simply put, this is a title to land which government has granted to a person (s), company (s), statutory body or an incorporated association.  However, it was not ascertained whether the grant was made for a cash consideration or on the completion of certain developments that will benefit the state or a mixture of both.

It was also noted that there were 1 065 mortgage bonds recorded by the office. This could effectively mean over a thousand people bought homes during the course of the year.

When a person finances the purchase with a mortgage, the lender rarely retains ownership of the mortgage. In a default situation; bondholders have a claim to the underlying property and could sell it off to compensate for the default.

In monetary terms, it was ascertained that about E17.9 million was raked in from stamp duties, fees of office and search fees. It should be noted that stamp duties attracted most of the revenue as it stood at E17.8 million.

Registrar of Deeds Thabiso Masina, said there had been a slight increase in the number of properties that changed hands. In nine months of 2017, there were 742 property transfers.

“The numbers are impressive and show an improvement in the property sector but there is room for further development going forward,” said Masina.  
In the wake of news to the effect that there has been an upsurge in the property sector, it should be mentioned that non-Swati property owners who acquired land prior to the pronouncement that only emaSwati could now own land in the country will not have their transactions reversed.

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