Such is the surge in demand for student accommodation in the university town of Stellenbosch in the Cape Winelands, that investors – and parents – are snapping up units in sectional title developments designed to cater for this lucrative market.

According to Louise Varga, Pam Golding Properties area manager for Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Gordon’s Bay and Strand: “The accelerated demand for student accommodation has pushed up property prices, especially sectional title properties close to Stellenbosch University campus.

“This demand translates into meaningful capital returns on investment for astute buyers, particularly those who acquire units on or soon after launch.  For example, a buyer who purchased an apartment for R2.4 million in Beau Vie sold it for R2.8 million a year later, achieving a 17% capital return in just one year.

“In another instance, we sold an entire apartment block Beau Vie 2 off plan to an investor even before it came to market, as he understood and seized the opportunity to capitalise on the high demand for student accommodation in Stellenbosch.”

Continues Varga: “In 2015 a two-bedroom unit in Andringa Walk sold for R2.65 million and was rented out for R9 400 per month, while today, a two-bedroom unit in this development sells for over R4.7 million and achieves rentals of R24 500 a month. The capital growth achieved in eight years is almost 77% while the rental has increased by 160% over the same period, and even during Covid, as rental demand continues to increase exponentially, exceeding supply.

“In 2010, we sold erven in the development, Brandwacht aan Rivier for R995 000 to buyers purchasing off plan, with some selling their erven three months after transfer for R1.495 million – that’s R500 000 or just over 50% more than they paid for them, which underscores the benefit of getting in early on these new developments.

“Furthermore,” says Varga, “a new development like Newinbosch, that offers a wide variety of homes and accommodation plus an endless list of amenities has sold over R200 million in residential property in just five months, on one estate.”

“At the time, the higher-than-anticipated 50bps rate hike at the previous (March 2023) MPC meeting was widely thought to be the last – or at worst the penultimate – repo rate hike in the current interest rate cycle.

There was room for a pause in the upward repo rate cycle, says Dr Andrew Golding.

With its modern, flexible workspaces and landscaped courtyard areas, the newly completed, Grade A ‘Garden City Business Park’ in central Nairobi, Kenya, is attracting large multinational companies, including the likes of East African Breweries which is a subsidiary of Diageo, one of the world’s largest producers of spirits and beer, says Kunaal Samani, MD of Pam Golding Properties Kenya.

Across the market, residential property sales in Bloemfontein last year (2020) were the highest recorded during the past decade, despite the impact of Covid-19 and the lockdown, says Pam Golding Properties area principal, Ulrich Sirgel.

As the world grapples with the uncertainty surrounding the long-term implications of Covid-19, there is a measure of agreement on one thing - the global pandemic has fast-tracked numerous trends which were already emerging prior to the crisis.

Such is the consistent high demand for centrally located, well-priced residential property of calibre in the sought-after suburb of La Lucia just north of Durban, that a brand new nine-storey, 63-unit residential development.

A luxurious, prime located, four-bedroom Clifton bungalow in perfect position on 4th Beach has been sold by Pam Golding Properties for R70 million to an upcountry buyer for use as a holiday home.

After the worst economic downturn in decades, further dampened by the recent tightening of lockdown restrictions in response to the second wave of the pandemic and the recommencement of load shedding, economic growth – while admittedly coming off a low base - is still widely expected to show some positive growth of around 3% this year.

Competing against real estate companies from around the country, this is the 14th year that Pam Golding Properties has received the prestigious 5-Star award for ‘Best Real Estate Agency in South Africa’ (over 20 offices) in the world-renowned International Property Awards.