exodus to cape town
26 Aug 2008
Latest figures by well-known property research group Global Property Guide show that the price of an average apartment in Cape Town sells for US$2784 (R22 272) per square metre, more than double the $1376 (R11 008) per square metre cost of the average Johannesburg apartment.
“In the first quarter of this year we have seen a large rise in the number of Gautengers from all cultures and income groups looking to relocate to the Cape,” says CEO of Engel & Volkers, Patrick O’Shea. “I would say it is on a scale comparable to the north-to-south migration that took place in the mid 1990s, which saw a similar wave of relocations.”
According to O’Shea, personal safety is the primary reason given by people looking to take advantage of the Cape’s more relaxed and secure environment. “In essence it’s a lifestyle choice. Our clients have expressed concern about the regularity of violent crime as well as the frequent power outages and worsening traffic congestion. Cape Town is seen as a safer city, and to a degree, is not plagued with the same level of power outages and traffic issues.” With its more creative culture, also offers an enticing environment for entrepreneurs. “Office space vacancies in the CBD are at record lows of four percent, pointing to the development of the city as a preferred place for setting up shop.” He says there is also a growing trend of businessmen moving their families to a safer city, yet still commuting weekly to Gauteng for business.
The migration is also impacting on the availability of private schooling in the Cape, with many of the more exclusive schools citing full waiting lists. “We are contacted daily by parents from Gauteng who are desperately looking for private schooling in the Cape Town area,” says a spokesperson from Western Province Preparatory School for Boys. “We are often unable to accommodate them in which case we add them to our waiting lists. To complicate matters we have regular enquiries coming in from the UK, over and above the growing enquiries in and around the Western Cape alone.”
Homecoming Revolution, a non-profit organisation that assists South Africans abroad on their return says that though most weren’t Capetonians, the majority of returnees were selecting the city as their new base in South Africa.