Soaring Sales, Foreign Investment - Semigration Surge

The Cape Property Market Continues To Shine

Those of us in the real estate industry took heart last year when the property industry rallied, despite the onslaught of Covid-19 and lock down. Now, over halfway through 2021 the housing market continues to enjoy robust sales figures, despite the many financial challenges created by the pandemic.

The decision to maintain interest rates at the lowest offered in over five decades, coupled with the many well-priced properties currently on the market, has resulted in a surge of buyer activity. Initially we were seeing many first-time home buyers taking advantage of the favourable lending conditions, however of late we see a steady increase of buyers across the board in all price brackets.

The latest Absa Homeowner Sentiment Index for June 2021 shows a fourth consecutive period of positive sentiment towards buying property. Recent evaluations put the value of South Africa's property sector at R5.8 trillion and real estate accounted for the largest contribution to the GDP in the first quarter of this year. According to Stats SA, economic activity in the real estate sector increased by 7.4% and the residential housing market has contributed upwards of R191 billion to South Africa's economic growth, and at least R46 billion has gone directly to the fiscus from property sales.

In keeping with the industry trend, the DG has experienced strong demand over the last few months, with total sales figures surpassing all expectations for this period. Added to this market buoyancy our strategy for growing our presence, in the Southern Suburbs and the Western Seaboard has served us very well, and we have been able to capture significant market share. Atlantic Seaboard areas, such as Clifton, Sea Point, Fresnaye, Bantry Bay and Green Point (to name a few) remain a firm favourites amongst buyers. The Southern Suburbs has also performed incredibly well. The lure of a more affordable lifestyle, and proximity to excellent schools as well as Kirstenbosch gardens, shopping malls, walking trails in the Newlands forest, world class sporting facilities and a myriad of other offerings.

Our growth in new security developments on offer, together with those in planning bring many varied and interesting new offerings to the market place.

Interesting to note is that the semigration trend continues to gain momentum, with many buyers coming from Gauteng. This is a movement that we anticipate will gain traction in the coming months as more families relocate to the Cape from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal following the unrest that has been taking place in these provinces. In the past 2 weeks and we have been inundated with calls from families looking to buy or rent in the popular areas of Bishopscourt, Constantia, Newlands, Upper Claremont and Upper Kenilworth.

Excitingly, there are many foreign buyers purchasing property in Cape Town, with particular interest from German and Austrian nationals. It is wonderful to see international investment returning to the South African property market, and indicates the value offered by our local real estate, together with the quality of life to be experienced in the Western Cape.

Amongst the sales made in recent months by our team are some stand-out deals such as a home in Kloof Road that sold for R72.5 million. Two homes sold in Ocean View Drive for R62 million and R30 million respectively - this one being a cash sale at the full asking price, and an apartment at the V&A Waterfront sold for R31.2 million. In the Southern Suburbs a home in the secure Estate of Silverhurst, Constantia Upper sold for R26 million and another in Upper Constantia sold for R24 million. Strong demand for new development opportunities continues with 56 sales recorded over the first 6 months of 2021.

And it is not just sales activity, we note a strong demand for High-end rentals across all areas in Cape Town with the DG Rental team having recently concluded deals such as two houses in Camps Bay for R180k and R85k per month, two rentals in Fresnaye for R130k and R75k respectively, an apartment at Bantry Hills for R70k per month, another nearby in Bantry Bay for R45k, and several homes rented in Upper Constantia from R65k to R87k per month.