11-06-2025
Record sales to international buyers in Cape Town hotspots this year
Correlating strongly with City of Cape Town reports of a record-breaking summer tourism season, international property buyers have invested in record numbers in the City's hotspots, according to the Seeff Property Group.
Propstats data shows that sales worth almost R2.462b were concluded in the first five months of this year, the highest in the last five years. The total value for the whole of 2024 was R3.4b, and it was similar in the prior year, 2023.
Sales to international buyers reached a record R600m in February, and R700 in April across the whole city. More than two thirds (67%) of the total value were generated by sales across the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl.
Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard, says sales activity has been up quite notably this year. For the Atlantic Seaboard alone, sales to international buyers amount to about R530m for April. Overall, there were sales in just about all of the suburbs. The highest values recorded are in Camps Bay and Bantry Bay, and the highest volumes in Sea Point (27) and the CBD (32).
Buyers from more than 40 countries invested in property across the Cape this year. The highest volume is attributable to buyers from Germany, followed by the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland, and other European countries. There has also been a notable uptick in sales to American buyers who bought predominantly in Sea Point, Bantry Bay, Mouille Point and in the City Bowl.
Buyers from other African countries have also made a welcome return. These include some 12 countries, being Angola, Cameroon, Congo, eSwatini, Gabon, Ghana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia with Nigeria the stand-out in terms of the volume of sales.
Levin says the whole market across the Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl has been very active and there is a shortage of stock, thus presenting good opportunities for sellers right now. Notable recent Seeff sales to foreign buyers include two sales to German buyers at R21m in Camps Bay and R29m at the Waterfront as well as a R29.5m sale at the Waterfront to a buyer from eSwatini.
Other areas where international buyers have been active include Constantia and Bishopscourt in the Southern Suburbs, False Bay areas such as Muizenberg and Fish Hoek, Southern Peninsula suburbs such as Kommetjie and Scarborough, Hout Bay, and Blouberg where Marlene Picksley, an agent with Seeff Blouberg concluded a record sale of R16.5m in Sunset Beach to a buyer from the USA.
Hout Bay has seen particularly strong demand from international buyers with as much as 37 sales to buyers from a number of different countries, especially Germany, Netherlands, UK, Denmark, and other European buyers, and the USA. According to Stephan Cross, manager for Seeff Hout Bay and Llandudno the buyers spent between R5m to R25m.
He says the Hout Bay market has been particularly hot this year with high sales activity and a shortage of stock, thus good opportunities for sellers, he adds. Propstats shows that total sales across the whole Hout Bay market already tops R600 million for this year following a record R1.3b last year, notably higher than for 2023, and similar to the 2022 Covid-boom sales levels.
Levin says Cape Town is particularly attractive to international buyers, including those from the African continent for its Mediterranean climate, cosmopolitan lifestyle, and access to good amenities. International buyers are not only keen investors in property, but also tend to spend more on a per capita basis, and often invest even more in upgrades and their lifestyle, all of which amount to a notable injection of foreign income for the local economy.
Issued by Gina Meintjes
