South African Mortgage Growth Slows In August

According to the Absa Group, which is South Africa's biggest mortgage lender, South African house-price growth slowed to an annual 1.7 percent in August, the slowest pace since January 1993, as rising interest rates curbed demand. Growth in house prices fell back from a revised 2.6 percent in July. The average price of a house was 962,500 rand ($122,294) last month. Adjusted for inflation, prices in the middle-segment of the market dropped by an annual 9.6 percent in July, the sixth monthly decline in real terms, and the biggest drop in real terms since November 1992.