Message from the MD - May 2023
Category Newsletter: Message from MD
The month of April is commonly known as a fairly slow business month due to its high number of both religious and public holidays. With careful planning, these can easily be converted into two separate long weekends. At Renico we believe that quality work comes from quality time off and we decided to give all our employees the additional "in-between day" off as well, enabling them to get maximum time to rest and spend time with their families, friends and loved ones. The sunny autumn weather of the past weekend was certainly conducive to lazing in the sun!
Winter certainly seems to be slow in arriving this year, and we can but hope the farmers are making full use of the extended good weather to the benefit of their crops and livestock since food inflation is currently the biggest driver of our consumer price index inflation. Earlier this month it was reported that our year-on-year food inflation had risen to a staggering 14%! Not only is this bad news for the consumer, who needs to place food on the table, but if it continues to increase it also does not bode well for the overall CPI inflation, dampening hopes of a reprieve in the current upward cycle of interest rates. Most South African consumers are currently under financial strain and another hike in the interest rate will increase this burden even further.
However, even during these tough economic times, sales are still being concluded on all our sites. The banks are currently offering competitive interest rates to all qualifying purchasers, and I am happy to report that both our Leano and Featherstone projects are officially sold out!
Activity in the rental market also remains elevated and will most probably continue to be the best performer in the residential segment of the market for the foreseeable future.
Author: Nico Louw
