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| Claremont Upgrades Central Area |
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The cranes are flying in Claremont Central - Claremont's Business District. They provide the obvious symbol of some R2-billion of private sector investment that is creating new office, retail and residential development in the area
The City has been working with the CIDC on proposals for upgrading the entire public environment of Claremont Central and a two-year study by consultants has been completed. Officials hope to obtain Council approval for its recommendations by the end of the year. The public consultation process now underway is an important step in this process.
A public participation programme, including exhibitions and a public meeting, has also been formulated.
The study's proposals see the streets and squares of the area being reclaimed for pedestrian use, with residents benefiting from a selection of treed outdoor places, where birds and birdsong replace motor cars and tarmac.
| Claremont Improvement District Company, 02-05-2007 |
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| Tourism Encourages Interest in South African Market |
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Foreigners are definitely showing a stronger interest in SA’s property market, particularly the hotel and leisure property sectors
Pace Property Group MD David Green says the interest in the hotel and leisure market is due to the fact that the country is becoming a popular tourist destination and investors consider SA to be “undersupplied” with quality hotel accommodation.
“Generally there is a trend throughout the world to seek investments in emerging economies such as eastern European countries, Asia and southern Africa.”
But the South African property market still has a way to go in terms of the size of the property transactions available.
Green says a recent single European transaction was equivalent to, if not greater in size than, any of SA’s largest JSE-listed property funds.
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| 2010 Triggers Massive Growth for Cape Town |
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The 2010 World Cup Soccer Tournament is the single biggest catalyst that will help trigger major infrastructure investments in Cape Town
Addressing the Cape Town Press Club last week, City Manager, Achmat Ebrahim, said that the stadium at Green Point and supporting infrastructure for 2010 are the biggest capital projects Cape Town has ever undertaken.
"It is not just about the construction of the stadium. Nor is it just about soccer. It is an unprecedented opportunity for the City to overhaul its public transport system, upgrade major road networks and other facilities.
"Often and unfairly, Cape Town has been portrayed as being out of step with the rest of the country and lacking the will to pull it off in time. This is not so. We had to go through a host of statutory approval processes and major obstacles over many months. These included an environmental impact assessment, rezoning, consent use and building plan approval. We also had to overcome legal challenges and funding crises.
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| Cape Town Property Focus Turns To Northern Suburbs |
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The focus of the property market is increasingly shifting to the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town, including the Central Business District of Bellville, which is once again becoming a haven for commercial property
According to Eduard Hanekom of RE/MAX De Kloof, prospective buyers of residential property are choosing the Northern Suburbs, mainly due to the factor of affordability, but also because these areas are being uplifted by a spate of developments.
Graham Alexander, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Commercial City agrees that affordability makes Bellville and surrounds the current haven for buyers. Alexander sites the example of the well-known Omnia Building on Voortrekker Road in Bellville, which was owned by Sanlam, but had largely been under-utilised due to lack of demand for office space in the 1990s.
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| Listed Property versus Direct Property |
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Which should you be investing in if you have a bit of extra money to invest and your heart is set on property, then consider going listed and direct property?
Rode's latest report for the quarter ended December 2006 stated that the most significant benefits of investing in listed property as opposed to the buy-to-let market are diversification and increased liquidity.
With listed property, an investor would easily be exposed to a portfolio of properties in different areas and across various market segments, whereas this would be costly and more difficult with direct property.
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| Guest House Market Heats Up |
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South Africa continues to attract international investors seeking to relocate and invest in lucrative Guesthouse opportunities
"In the Western Cape during the current month of March (2007) alone, we are in the final stages of concluding transactions for the sale of lodges and guesthouses at a total value of R47-million, while in Gauteng, through our a further R30-million's worth of deals are currently being signed," says Bruil.
"Buyers are a mix of Dutch, UK, German, Kenyan, Cameroonian and Spanish investors, plus most recently, purchasers from the Czech Republic.
These are well-established people, already successful in their careers, who see South Africa as their new home and want to have their own business here. Some are already living here.
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| Joburg Targets Black and Female Investors |
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More than R1,7-billion has been invested in property refurbishments and construction in the inner city since Johannesburg launched a drive to regenerate the area in October 2004
To complement this, the City is calling on black economic empowerment (BEE) and female investors to take advantage of the inner city's bright economic climate and participate in its efforts to reverse the negative economic trend that characterised the area during the 1990s.
Speaking at an urban development zone (UDZ) seminar attended by business people on Wednesday, 4 April, the acting executive director in Joburg's Department of Economic Development, Jason Ngobeni, said the revitalisation of the inner city was a key City priority.
| Johannesburg News Agency, 10-04-2007 |
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| South African Property Continues to Play in the Top League |
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The South African commercial property market achieved total returns of 26.7% in 2006, the second highest annual return since the start of the index in 1995
This strong result was below the 2005 overall property return, which was at 30.1%, signalling a levelling of a very strong property cycle. These results were released by IPD (Investment Property Databank) in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban at events sponsored by RMB Properties (Pty) Ltd.
"The three-year annualised return for commercial property is 26.7%, equivalent to the total return of 2006, and the five-year annualised return is a sturdy 20.8%", said Managing Director of IPD South Africa, Stan Garrun.
Equities and property loan stocks outstripped the direct property index at 41.2% and 33.8% respectively, but direct property achieved better returns than the property unit trusts at 16.2% and bonds at 5.5%. Over a 12-year period property marginally outperformed equities at 15.8% vs. 15.6%.
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| Foreign Focus On South Africa Commercial Property |
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A largely untold aspect of the commercial and industrial property boom of the moment is growing foreign interest and investment in South Africa
The number of purchases of South African commercial and industrial property by foreign buyers is believed to have exceeded that of residential property.
Andrew Bradford of property consultancy Bradford McCormack explains: "Much has been made of the growing foreign demand for residential real estate in SA, but estimates are that these sources actually account for less than 1% of all such transactions.
"On the other hand, while no official figures are available, anecdotal evidence and our own experience points to the fact that the number of acquisitions by foreign owners of both commercial and industrial property exceeds that percentile."
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| 2006 Highs in Commercial Building |
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According to John Loos, property strategist for FNB Commercial Banking, the release of December building statistics by StatsSA for the year 2006 reported that the real value of building plans passed reached the highest level on record, and probably safe to say the highest level ever, finally surpassing the previous record set in 1982 around the gold boom period.
For 2006 in total, StatsSA figures showed a 21% rise in the real value of total commercial building plans passed, reaching an all time high level. "The real value of commercial building completions has some way to go to passing its previous record set in 1985, but nevertheless rose again, by 21,8%, the fourth successive year of increase in real terms. Judging by the gap being opened up between the real value of plans passed versus completions, it would appear that the rising long term trend in real value of completions has some years to go," says Loos.
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