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Cape Town - As Cape Town hosted and continues to host the annual influx of local and foreign visitors, Seeff’s Atlantic Seaboard managing director, Ian Slot said that the agency is experiencing a bumper holiday sales season.
Following a better than expected performance of the market last year and with trade during the summer months significantly up on the same period last year, sellers can look forward to a good year.
The city’s growing prominence as a diverse tourist destination and the favourable exchange rate, he said is a boost for the property market.
This positive sentiment was also recently highlighted in a media statement by Cape Town Tourism chief executive officer, Enver Duminy who said that the favourable exchange rate and the city’s recent spate of international accolades are set to contribute to a good tourist season.
The peak tourism season usually runs from October/November until the end of April when the foreign tourist season ends.
Property sales traditionally peak over this period with a pick of about 20-30% in buyer interest and Seeff agents are already reporting a notable pick-up in sales since the start of October, said Slot.
During October for example, Seeff alone sold 33 properties to the value o fR135m, just over half of all sales concluded on the Atlantic Seaboard for the month.
Seeff’s sales as at end November amounted to almost R1.02bn (295 properties).
Slot said that it is not only foreign visitors that set their sights on acquiring property when visiting the city, but also local visitors, especially those from Gauteng, most notably Joburgers that once again flocked here over December.
That tourism is a good boost for the property market is also clearly reflected in the foreign buying activity across the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl, added Slot.
The biggest foreign buyer source markets have always been and at least for now continue to be the UK and northern European countries, most notably Germany, the Benelux and Nordic countries.
The growth in foreign visitors from the East - China, India and the Middle East especially as well as from Africa’s top emerging economies though is driving a shift in foreign buying patterns.
Foreign buying this year has been at the best levels over the last five years, he added.
For the January-October 2010 period, about 90 properties to the value of almost R440m sold to foreign buyers.
The UK and Europe account for about 60% with a total of around 99 sales to the value of just over R602m.
African buyers account for 26 sales (16%) worth almost R234m, while buyers from the Middle and Far East account for 22 sales (13%) with a combined value of R92m.
History has shown that property here has the propensity for some of the highest capital growth rates in the country.
While price growth over the past five years has been more conservative, sellers who have bought smart and held onto their property for at least five years and longer has seen average growth rates of between 12-18% on resale this year.
Following a better than expected performance of the market last year and with trade during the summer months significantly up on the same period last year, sellers can look forward to a good year.
The city’s growing prominence as a diverse tourist destination and the favourable exchange rate, he said is a boost for the property market.
This positive sentiment was also recently highlighted in a media statement by Cape Town Tourism chief executive officer, Enver Duminy who said that the favourable exchange rate and the city’s recent spate of international accolades are set to contribute to a good tourist season.
The peak tourism season usually runs from October/November until the end of April when the foreign tourist season ends.
Property sales traditionally peak over this period with a pick of about 20-30% in buyer interest and Seeff agents are already reporting a notable pick-up in sales since the start of October, said Slot.
During October for example, Seeff alone sold 33 properties to the value o fR135m, just over half of all sales concluded on the Atlantic Seaboard for the month.
Seeff’s sales as at end November amounted to almost R1.02bn (295 properties).
Slot said that it is not only foreign visitors that set their sights on acquiring property when visiting the city, but also local visitors, especially those from Gauteng, most notably Joburgers that once again flocked here over December.
That tourism is a good boost for the property market is also clearly reflected in the foreign buying activity across the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl, added Slot.
The biggest foreign buyer source markets have always been and at least for now continue to be the UK and northern European countries, most notably Germany, the Benelux and Nordic countries.
The growth in foreign visitors from the East - China, India and the Middle East especially as well as from Africa’s top emerging economies though is driving a shift in foreign buying patterns.
Foreign buying this year has been at the best levels over the last five years, he added.
For the January-October 2010 period, about 90 properties to the value of almost R440m sold to foreign buyers.
The UK and Europe account for about 60% with a total of around 99 sales to the value of just over R602m.
African buyers account for 26 sales (16%) worth almost R234m, while buyers from the Middle and Far East account for 22 sales (13%) with a combined value of R92m.
History has shown that property here has the propensity for some of the highest capital growth rates in the country.
While price growth over the past five years has been more conservative, sellers who have bought smart and held onto their property for at least five years and longer has seen average growth rates of between 12-18% on resale this year.
