Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - While an influx of foreign tourists would up the interest in the residential property market, it was unlikely to be sufficient enough to make a meaningful difference to the overall market, said FNB commercial property economist John Loos.
"One could expect some increase in foreign visitor viewing, and possibly demand too, in some of the luxury areas of Cape Town and the southern Cape for instance.
"However, I remain of the view that this number won't be big enough to make a meaningful difference to the overall residential market of the country," Loos said.
Earlier in the week Pam Golding Properties (PGP) noted that some international visitors were taking time out to view some of the prime-located residential properties, with a number of enquiries mainly in the coastal areas.
Ling Dobson, PGP's area principal in Knysna said: "We have had enquiries from French and Italian visitors who are here for the World Cup, who are mainly interested in properties with sea views in the R3m to R5m price range, for use as leisure homes when visiting South Africa on holiday.
"However what is interesting is that suddenly the positive sentiment generally seems to have sparked a dramatic increase in enquiries from South African home buyers from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, as well as local buyers in this area.
"While this demand is mainly for homes, there are also enquiries for commercial properties, which is a very positive indicator," Dobson said.
Loos however painted a longer-term picture.
"I am very positive about the long-term benefits of the World Cup, along with all the other international events hosted before it, in terms of gradually changing the perceptions of the country and its organisational capacity for the better.
"And insofar as it achieves this, long term economic growth can benefit from higher interest from investors.
"Anything that's good for the economy is good for property," he said.
The economist said he remained of the belief that short-term direct impacts in terms of World Cup visitor residential demand would be small in the grander scheme of things.
- I-Net Bridge
