Rand Decline Boosts Appeal in SA Real Estate

The rand recently fell to a 14-year low against both the pound and the dollar – and in doing so underlined the exceptional purchasing opportunities currently available to foreign investors in the SA real estate market.

Indeed, for those buying in strong currencies, home prices in SA have effectively been discounted by between 35% and 50% since 2011.

At that time, (according to www.XE.com) the dollar was worth around R7, compared to almost R13 currently, while the pound was worth around R12,50, compared to R20 currently.

What this means in bricks-and-mortar terms is that a R10m luxury property in SA that would have cost a foreign investor US$1,43m five years ago will today only cost US$769 000 – or around 46% less.

For those buying in pounds, today’s price for the R10m property would be around GBP500 000 compared to around GBP800 000 five years ago – which equates to a saving of 37,5%.

And even though the Euro has also taken quite a beating over the past five years, those people able to buy in this currency now will need 50% less than they did five years ago – that is, E715 000 to acquire the R10m property in SA now compared to E1,43m in 2011.
   
In short, there has seldom been a better time for foreign purchasers to buy holiday homes or investment properties in SA.

And through its membership of  Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) network and its luxury real estate programme, Luxury Portfolio International®, the Chas Everitt International Property Group is now able to expose the best homes for sale all over SA to a global audience of more than three-million high net worth individuals.