Greenleaf Property Developers

Those who think that the 1m plus South Africans now living in the UK have turned their backs on their home country could not be more wrong.

"We have been in touch with two organisations marketing property in SA primarily to South African expatriates and it is quite clear that a high percentage (perhaps 10%) either already has bought property in SA or intends to do so. One survey shown to us indicates that 32% of UK based South Africans plan to buy here and that many already own two, three or more properties in SA," , says Lanice Steward, managing director of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

Steward said that Anne Porter Knight Frank (APKF) is now tapping into this market through advertising in The South African, a weekly newspaper with a 35,000 print run, written and printed in the UK by and for some 122,000 South African readers.

Once a month, said Steward, this newspaper has a 50 page (or larger) supplement entirely devoted to SA property. New developments, she said, appear to be particularly popular with SA expatriates – but the second hand market has also found buyers.

"We are emphasising that the weaker rand makes now a good time to buy and the higher interest rates are already pushing up rentals and will increase the capital value of properties – again making now a good time to buy."

Asked the usual questions about buyers from overseas ("Are they pushing up local prices?"), Steward said that nationally they comprise only 1,5% to 2% of the total house buying public. The main price drivers have been – and remain – the local buyers, many of whom in recent years have had earnings far higher than previously.

"It has to be realised that Cape house prices have for many years been slightly higher than those in the rest of the country – but it is local buyers who have stoked demand."

For more information contact Lanice Steward on 021 671 9120