On the Pulse of the Cape Town City Bowl

Cape Town has long been known as one of the African continent’s most happening hotspots, brimming with culture and a flourishing cosmopolitan scene. The buzzing city bowl offers a world of promise for tourists and investors alike - and Tyson Properties’ Jayson Sprawson sheds light on current property trends in the Cape Town City Bowl, fresh from the frontline of the business.

Cape Town City Bowl Remains A Great Real Estate Investment
For starters, the city has enjoyed an extended period of organic growth that appears to be going from strength to strength. Positive feedback from the city bowl’s generally affluent property market is that Cape Town is an efficiently run city, set in a province that is thought to be secure in its future. 

“Cape Town will always be an attractive destination, because it’s so beautiful and has so much to offer,” says Sprawson.  He backs this up with the observation that potential buyers are attracted to the wealth of opportunity to invest in the City Bowl, with its proximity to Table Mountain and the Atlantic seaboard remaining a massive draw card. Most notably, investors are prepared to pay premium prices to secure their slice of the beautiful Cape, giving developers the confidence to pour their energy and resources into growing the city bowl. 

Continued Growth & Expansion
The city bowl area has seen year-on-year growth, without a single red digit in sight. “Given, the influx of property buyers flocking to Cape Town city bowl from around the country, there’s no logical reason why this trend will not continue to grow,” says Jayson. 

The city is rapidly expanding from a central point, offering areas such as the Foreshore a thriving and thoroughly developed epicentre from which to grow. 

An Interesting Increase In Short-Term Rentals
The massive increase in short-term letting is a result of the rise of concepts such as Air BnB. Because they come with relatively high day rates, these letting innovations have pushed rental prices up beyond expectation. 

While there is still a thriving sales market, the short supply of properties on the market do not meet the current demand. Any new developments that provide apartments selling at R2.5 million or below are exceptionally sought after. In fact, they are sold almost as soon as they arrive on the market. 

Lock-And-Go Living Still An Exciting Property Option for Cape Town Buyers
While this is generally the case in the South African property market, sectional title, or apartment and complex properties, will always appeal to people buying in Cape Town, as they don’t stay in the city all year long. Buyers hold the security attached to complex or apartment living in high regard. 

Freehold properties, in comparison, are not in as much demand because of the maintenance levels that come along with these purchases. As a response to this trend, many freehold properties are being rezoned and converted into security complexes and apartments.