A strong demand has emerged in the Cape Town CBD and surrounds for smaller commercial buildings to purchase and renovate and then either occupy, re-sell or let, comments Nadia Razis, a sales and leasing consultant for Pam Golding Commercial.

She says some enquiries are with the aim of redeveloping the properties - mainly in the increasingly popular and vibrant Somerset Road and Waterkant areas, in line with the changing face of the CBD where much larger former office buildings are already being successfully redeveloped and marketed.

However, she adds that office space in the CBD continues to be in demand, as the area is now perceived as a safe and desirable location.

"Boosted by the low interest rates, there's a general surge in interest among investors seeking smaller commercial properties, either single or double storey and in the region of approximately 300-350sqm, and priced under R1 million," says Razis. "There is also an increase in the number of owner-occupier enquiries we are receiving, and this may also be to some degree attributable to growth in the number of entrepreneurs starting their own small and medium-sized businesses.

"Many of these are new local entrants to the commercial property marketplace, as well as some foreign investors from the UK and France, who reside for part of the year in Cape Town. The most popular areas are the CBD, Green Point and Southern Suburbs - particularly Observatory, Woodstock and Constantia eg for a variety of uses including art galleries, pilates studios, pathology laboratories etc. There's also a strong demand for small sized premises to let, ranging from 50-350sqm, and in these same locations," she says.

This high demand is born out by a number of recent transactions - both leases and sales - concluded by Razis. These include two leases in Roeland Square, Cape Town CBD for an insurance business and an interior design company; two leases in Strand Tower, also in the CBD, for an international call centre and a soft skills (HR and management) training company; a lease in Alphen Park, Constantia to an industrial manufacturer involved in new product development; and the sale of a small property in Rochester Road, Salt River, for redevelopment.

Razis adds that enquiries from investors are steady. The major difficulty in meeting the growing demand is the shortage of quality properties for sale or to let. For further information contact Nadia Razis at Pam Golding Commercial on 021 4177878 or cell 082 573 1262.

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