THOUGHT OF THE WEEK Foreigners continue their pursuit of South African property

Contributed by Hayley Ivins-Downes, Lightstone

Many postulated that foreign ownership in the local property market would decrease this year, however, an analysis of current foreign ownership in South Africa shows an increase of 42% in January 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Gauteng and Cape Town are at the top of the purchasing pile; Cape Town due to its cosmopolitan ambience and multi-cultural inclusiveness, and Gauteng because of the thriving industrial and business hubs which offer many employment opportunities. Transactional data shows that 83% of all foreign purchases are made in these two provinces. A surprising development is that Gauteng is becoming increasingly popular and the Eastern Cape is also becoming more alluring to foreign buyers.

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