Camps Bay property market surges on pandemic demand for work-live-play lifestyle

Nowhere else is the pandemic-induced demand for a work-live-play lifestyle better embodied than in the suburb of Camps Bay. South Africa’s top tourist suburb is riding the wave of positivity in the property market with spectacular sales, says Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard.

Seeff has just clinched a R52 million sale, a record price achieved by an agency in the suburb on top of record months and a record year by our two teams of agents, he adds.

After a rather lacklustre 2018 and 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought renewed interest in the country’s top tourist suburb with record sales, he says. Spectacular sales of over R741,6 million at an average price of over R14,2 million have already been achieved for the year to end October.

This, says Levin, is already 38% higher than the whole of 2020, 28% more than the whole of 2019 and 48% higher than the whole of 2018. We could end the year on close to highs of 2017, he adds.

Camps Bay has been one of the fastest growing areas since 2010. The average selling price has grown by 131% since 2010 which equates to a phenomenal average annual growth of around 12%, well above the national norms, he adds.

There has been a significant amount of upgrading and rebuilding and today it is a stunning coastal neighbourhood and tourist hot spot which compares with some of the best in the world. According to a New World Wealth Report, the suburb is home to the highest number of R20 million-plus valued homes.

Levin says that it is no wonder that buyers and investors come from all over the world to invest in this spectacular location. The news that the borders are open to the UK and with vaccination programmes rolling out there will hopefully be more borders opening, we hope to see more buyer and investment interest, he adds.

Seeff’s two Camps Bay teams have had an amazing run on sales in the last quarter, specifically September where they achieved six high value sales alone, ranging in price to R28 million for a luxury home in Camps Bay Drive and more recently when we concluded the R52 million record sale.

The agent team of Lyn Pope and Edith Marsh says 2019 was one of the worst sales years since the global recession of 2008 and they are delighted that the market has not only recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but to pre-2019 levels.

Team Pope and Marsh ended the 2020-year with sales at about 70% up on 2019. After a slow start this year, since May they have experienced a significant uptick in buyer interest, activity and demand with consistent monthly sales since.

The team says the highest demand is for contemporary and modern freestanding houses and villas. While the most active price band remains between R10 million and R20 million, they have achieved sales of up to R28 million, R32,5 million and R52 million.

Almost 70% of their listings were sold to foreign buyers from Canada, the UK, Russia, Nigeria, Switzerland and Sweden. Pope and Marsh are expecting a high volume of semigration and foreign buyer interest over the summer.

The team of Pola and Nadine Jocum also report a dramatic increase in sales this year, in fact better than the pre-pandemic period of 2018 to 2019 when political and economic uncertainty combined with the Cape water shortage contributed to a major slowdown in sales in Camps Bay. 2020 Was also much slower compared to this year, say the agents.

The pandemic has definitely been a boost. People having been locked up for months and where their financial positions had not changed, have shown their readiness for a change. Buyers locally and internationally also did not want to miss the opportunities to secure good value purchases

The agents note that the Camps Bay market was characterised for a while by high asking prices following the 2016-2018 boom years with many properties sitting on the market without activity. When the pandemic struck and the demand for houses increased in 2020 and into 2021, our experience and strong negotiation skills enabled us to achieve excellent sales.

Team Jocum achieved record sales months with total sales thus far of over R70 million in 2020. They expect an even better 2021. September has been a record month with sales ranging from R9.6 million to R28 million and achieving two of the highest prices in Camps Bay this year.

The highest demand is for family houses which do not require major updating in the R10 million to R15 million range and for development in the R7 million to R10 million range. Luxury modern homes with spectacular views are also sought after in the R18 million to R25 million range and up to R35 million for a top end home. There is also demand for spacious apartments with great sea views in the R10 million to R20 million range.

Buyers during 2020/2021 include SA expats, or people with business interests in South Africa. Three properties were purchased sight-unseen (representative viewed on their behalf) and in some instances we provided virtual video walk-throughs and comprehensive area market information to assist buyers to make decisions. These buyers were from Hong Kong, the USA and France. Other buyers include Western Cape families, Gauteng and other province semigrations or luxury holiday homes.