SUTHENTIRA GOVENDER | 2017-05-16 07:20:39.0


 

Table Mountain. File photo
Image by: The Times
South Africa’s swanky suburbs are in demand by wealthy Africans, who are following in the footsteps of their British and German counterparts when it comes to luxury real estate.
A report by Sandton wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth and AfrAsia Bank has found that a large number of African dollar millionaires are investing in property in South Africa.

While UK buyers top the list for high-end real estate, followed by Germans, the report shows that a large number of Africans are also buying homes in the R10-million price range in South Africa.

The bulk of them come from Angola, Ghana and Nigeria.

“Residential property normally constitutes between 25% and 30% of the net assets of an average African high net-worth individual.

“Popular properties for them include beachfront villas and homes in residential estates,” said Andrew Amoils of New World Wealth.

Sandhurst, Hyde Park and Houghton in Johannesburg, as well as Cape Town’s “Big Five” luxury hot spots, namely Fresnaye, Bantry Bay, Llandudno, Clifton and Camps Bay, all hold appeal for rich African buyers.

According to the report, South Africa’s private healthcare system, private schools, luxury residential estates, exclusive shopping malls and high-end food stores are possible drawcards.

Jason Shaw, national sales executive for Pam Golding Properties said: “Investors from other African countries continue to show a strong appetite for residential property in South Africa, particularly for homes in Gauteng.

“They are from across the continent with most frequent investors originating from Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Uganda, Gabon, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Congo and Mozambique.

“Foreign investment in residential property in South Africa continues to be encouraged by the perceived weakness in the rand, which ensures that foreign buyers, and buyers from the African continent in particular are able to achieve excellent value for money in South Africa.

“More traditionally, some high net-worth individuals are purchasing luxury seaside residential properties or other lifestyle properties that not only provide them with a holiday destination or a second or third home, but, given the weak rand, which represent an excellent means of diversifying their wealth portfolios and securing a sound long-term investment,” said Shaw.

He said African buyers preferred modern and contemporary homes that afford an exclusive lifestyle.

Shaw said the bulk of these sales were second homes with prices ranging mostly between R5-million and R30-million.

“Dainfern Golf Estate, which has the largest expatriate community in an estate in the southern hemisphere, offers an interesting case study with regard to foreign and African property purchases.

“In 2015 close on a half of the sales in the estate were to foreign buyers and nearly half of these were from the continent.”

 

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2017/05/16/Haven-for-wealthy-at-tip-of-Africa-Continent’s-rich-gravitate-to-Gauteng-Cape