With the price of fuel and food on the rise coupled with the crushing effect of soaring interest rates, our senior management at the eLan Group have plenty to be upbeat about. With a highly skilled professional team who have their fingers on the property pulse, we remain positive about the property market and believe with a bit of hard work and ingenuity, the best is yet to come. I've asked our team to comment on their views of the current market.

An eye for good positive returns
There is no doubt that the eLan Group is passionate about the North Coast. With an eye for good positive returns, the Group has value for money products in great positions and locations on this emerging economic corridor. National Sales Manager, Andrew Thompson says, "As a rule of thumb, we have seen some substantial growth in value on the various products we sell and market." Simbithi Eco-Estate homes are seeing complete homes bought for R2.5 million selling for up to R7 million. Land bought at R1.2 million are seeing value opportunities from R2 million to R3 million. Land sold at Blythedale for R570 000 is now fetching a R950 000 price tag.

Peaks and troughs
More and more people are turning toward property as an asset class versus older, more conservative means of investing that have been the flavour of the past 30 odd years. "This has diversified the group of potential property purchasers and it's exciting to see such a large emerging market entering the property game," says eLan Investor Club and Marketing Manager Melanie Clarkson. The eLan Investor Club aims to educate its members on the benefits of investing in property without any "quick fix" solutions. Property is a long term investment, with peaks and troughs but each peak will be higher than the previous peak. "The trend is a constant upward move and we see history repeating itself every six years of the cycle. We're just at one of those critical turning points right now," she said.

Get Ready, Be Prepared
Looking ahead is the name of the game in this business and no-one knows that better than Business Development Manager Trenley Tilbrook. He says, "At eLan, we are bullish about the future being bright not just for the company but also for the province and the country. When the property market takes a turn for the better, we will be ready for it". eLan are currently looking at a variety of opportunities to capitalise on when the market enters a new cycle. Trenley urges individuals to do the same. "There are so many opportunities in the market now, choose wisely, spend conservatively and savvy property investors will reap the rewards in years to come," he said.

One for all
"If the future is bright for us, we believe in a bright future for all," says eLan Director Thami Kamanga. "That is why we are dedicated to upholding the Department of Housing's inclusionary housing policy." At Blythedale Coastal Resort, we have included a social housing component where affordable housing will be available to poorer communities in the area. These residents will have access to all amenities on the Resort and be included in Blythedale as a whole. This element will be a social housing blueprint for all our future developments and even the department has endorsed it.

Keeping it Green
And if the future is bright, we need to ensure that our planet can sustain it. "Green living is a fundamental principle at eLan and we endeavor always to create developments that exist in harmony with nature," said Land and Conservation Manager Peter Coulon. His role is to ensure natural areas owned by the Group are well managed using sound wildlife management principles. Furthermore, the onus is on Peter to ensure that the professional team at eLan adopts green principles that will govern construction materials used, reduce the amount of energy and water used and make sure that waste is managed responsibly. He also plays a major role in the compilation of green living guidelines that are issued to homeowners. A competition is currently underway among eLan staff to determine what they are doing at home to make a difference. "If all of us can change our way of thinking starting at home we will take this to the workplace and make a difference there," he said.

South Africa is alive with possibility!
Warm regards,

CEO The eLan Group

A number of improvements have been implemented in Mauritius following the budget speech earlier this year. They aim to strengthen and streamline certain provisions relating mainly to revenue and public finance:

Islamic Financing Arrangement – With a view to encouraging Islamic Finance within the jurisdiction, the Income Tax Act has been amended to incorporate the taxing provisions pertaining to Islamic Finance Arrangements.

Law Practitioners Act – The Law Practitioners Act has now been enacted, thus foreign law firms may now set up their practices in Mauritius.

Mauritius and Tunisia – A DTA was signed between Mauritius and Tunisia in February 2008. The treaty follows the OECD model with some variations.

Mauritius and Qatar – A DTA has been signed between the government of Mauritius and the state of Qatar in July 2008.

MOU Mauritius and Uganda – A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Board of Investment Mauritius and Uganda Investment Authority. The aim of the MOU is to provide a framework for regional cooperation for the promotion of investment in Africa.

Main Club House
The main Simbithi Clubhouse is at the final design stage with construction planned to commence in January 2009 and to be completed in November 2009. Consisting of lounges, a restaurant and bar, this iconic clubhouse will be the heart of Simbithi!

BEST new course in SA
Not only was Simbithi Country Club voted 32nd in the country in terms of golf courses, but it has topped Complete Golfers ‘Best New Course in KwaZulu-Natal’!

Equestrian Centre
The fencing of the entire equestrian centre is complete together with the main Community Centre. 14 Stables will be available for rental within the next few months.

Avenol
The vision for Avenol is to create an agri-village (Hamlet) that depends on sustainable farm living with carbon neutral, low ecological footprint, bio-diverse habitats. After extensive market research the development has been rationalised to focus on a more sustainable agricultural development given the sensitivities and the high agricultural potential of the area.

Conservation has become more paramount in the planning as have green policies which involve energy, water, transport, waste, bio diversity, construction, work methods, food and education. The professional team are currently rationalising hydropower and the horticultural potential with organic crop selection.

Ballito Commercial Park
In response to the growing demand for general and light industrial space on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast, Ballito Commercial Park is a mixed use commercial development perfectly positioned in close proximity to the thriving coastal towns of Ballito and the new King Shaka International airport, between the booming port cities of Durban and Richards Bay.

Well connected to the province’s prime commercial and residential regions, the 328 hectare development is part of a bigger industrial master plan of the area and is split into three phases. Detailed town planning layouts have been completed as well as preliminary feasibilities. The development is currently going through the DFA (Development Facilitation Act) and EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) process.

Credit Lending - SA Banks
In an attempt to curb credit lending in the country, there have been a number of changes in the credit lending criteria of banks in South Africa. The attached table highlights the policies for Standard Bank, ABSA, FNB, Nedbank and SA Homeloans.

With the Introducer Program, there is no financial obligation and no strings attached. The concept essentially allows you, as a member of the eLan Investor Club, to refer people to the club, and benefit as a result should they purchase property with us. For each person you refer to the eLan Investor Club, they will be referenced under you with a personalised prefix. Through this process, each referred person becomes an eLan Investor Club Member, will be sent regular communication and be invited to property launches. If any person you referred buys property from eLan, we can trace them straight back to you through their unique membership number, and you earn R20 000 referral per sale!

	Refer people to the eLan Investor Club (it’s a click away)
	Have them referenced under you through a specialised membership number
	Sit back and earn R20 000 whenever they purchase property

Pretty simple for five seconds of your time! Think of all the people you know, including friends, family and work colleagues. Imagine the potential if these people brought property and you could earn R20 000 every time they did!

If you know 100 people and you refer them, and only 10% buy property, you’ve just made R200 000 for not much effort!

Most people are scared of worms and certainly won’t handle them, for others worms are great for fishing. But worms are one of the most important living creatures on our planet. Earthworms by feeding and burrowing in the soil, assist in the decomposition of dead plant material, improve the structure of the soil, create better soil quality and improve overall plant growth.

Worms can assist you at home in converting all your household waste into rich compost and worm tea (not the tea you would enjoy with scones, rather a rich liquid that can be used to fertilize your grass and plants).The worms ensure all bacteria are removed from the waste, and therefore the waste is odourless and fit for human consumption.

A worm farm consists of a simple stack of trays placed inside a container the size of a black rubbish bin. The best place to store a worm farm would be outside your kitchen as this will assist you in getting rid of your kitchen waste in an environmentally friendly way, and help you provide great fertilizer for the garden. A worm farm can typically consume up to 2.5kgs of waste a day when the farm has the optimum number of worms of between 15 000 to 18 000 worms in it.

eLan has two worm farms which will be used as both trial projects and educational projects for staff. Feel free to contact me should you like a worm farm supplier contact!

Some interesting facts:
	The longest earth worm in the world was found in South Africa and was nearly 7 feet in length.
	Earthworms can live up to 15 years, as long as the average life expectancy of a dog.

Peter Coulon
Email: petercoulon@elan.co.za

The Captains Table banquets take place the night before the Tri-Nations Tests. Enjoy rugby camaraderie rubbing shoulders with the Legends of Rugby and listen to live panel discussions anchored by Darren Scott.

Investor Club Manager