- Sales of Cape Town's trophy homes, valued at more than R20 million, have fetched almost R3 billion in the first nine months of R2022.
- That includes the recent sale of a 398sqm apartment at the "The Aurum" in Bantry Bay for R72 million, which set a new record rate per square metre of R180,905/sqm.
- And although "The Aurum" apartment was bought by a German, the last eight sales along the Atlantic Seaboard have all been to buyers from Gauteng.
- Gauteng buyers have increased over the past year, with Seeff Property Group recording a notable pick-up over the last five months.
Cape Town's trophy homes, those valued at more than R20 million, are attracting more buyers from Gauteng as the semigration trend, accelerated by the pandemic, charges ahead.
It's been a busy year for real estate agents in Cape Town's luxury housing segment. Of the 160 trophy homes sold over the past two years, more than half, with a combined value of almost R3 billion, have been bought in the first nine months of 2022, according to Seeff Property Group.
Around 80% of these trophy home sales have been concluded in the suburbs of the Atlantic Seaboard, especially Camps Bay, Clifton, Bantry Bay, Fresnaye, and at the Waterfront.
The recent sale of a 398sqm apartment at the "The Aurum" in Bantry Bay for R72 million, set a new record rate per square metre of R180,905/sqm. The previous highest in Bantry Bay was R135,731/sqm, which was paid in April 2019.
And while "The Aurum" apartment was picked up by a German buyer, all of the last eight home sales on the Atlantic Seaboard were to buyers from Gauteng. Seeff told Business Insider SA that "Gauteng buyers have picked up notably over the last 5 months" and accounted for 16% of sales in 2022 so far, up on years prior.
This rise in inland buyers looking for trophy homes in Cape Town has been attributed to the growing semigration trend, helped along by the pandemic-induced remote work movement, which has seen high-earning professionals opting for a better work-life balance.
Although more Gauteng buyers are piling into homes above R20 million, especially those along the Atlantic Seaboard, the market is still dominated by foreigners. Buyers from Germany, the UK, US, Switzerland, Finland, France, and Austria are common, according to Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl.
A unit in The Bantry sold for R22.6 million to a Swiss buyer in a joint sale, a high-value apartment that fetched R50 million at the Waterfront from an Austrian buyer, and a unit at The Waterclub in Granger Bay for R24 million to a German buyer are some exampled of recent sales cited by Levin.
Local homebuyers from around the Western Cape are also attracted to trophy homes, more so those in the city's leafy suburbs. Three trophy home sales in Constantia for R30,75 million, R26 million and R39 million, and a sale of R39 million in Bishopscourt, were all made to local buyers.
These sales are expected to grow even further as Cape Town welcomes a flurry of both international and local tourists during the upcoming summer season, according to Levin, who also noted that "the Cape Town market should be able to withstand some of the economic pressures a little better compared to the rest of the country."