“The main reason for this sharp increase in demand is of course the dramatic lift in business and consumer confidence since December and the changes in the ANC leadership structures which heralded the appointment of a new president.
“However, sales activity over the past few months has also been fuelled by the great value-for-money that has been available in Johannesburg’s upmarket suburbs, and two members of our Hyde Park team have sold R80m worth of luxury property since the start of the year.”
Purchases have largely been made, he says, by local business people confident in SA’s renewed prospects for economic growth and rising employment, as well as foreign investors and entrepreneurs who see great opportunities not only in SA but in the vast African market to the north. “Other main financial centres in Africa are proving difficult to work in at the moment for various reasons, and Johannesburg with its excellent financial infrastructure is once again being profiled as the gateway to the continent, says O’Hagan.
“As a result, we have also seen quite a number of multinational corporations seeking upmarket homes as accommodation for their expat executives who will be working in SA on new three- or five-year contracts. And of course there have been a few affluent buyers from Cape Town seeking a Johannesburg home until the water issue is resolved.”
However, O’Hagan says, this flurry of activity means that much of the stock that was available – some of which had been on the market for a long time - has now been absorbed.
