{"id":789954,"date":"2024-09-07T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-07T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=789954"},"modified":"2024-09-06T16:43:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T14:43:11","slug":"reverse-emigration-hitting-joburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/789954\/reverse-emigration-hitting-joburg\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Reverse emigration’ hitting Joburg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Gauteng property market’s recovery has been robust, and many South African expats are looking to return home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the improvement in the Gauteng market seen at the start of 2024 was primarily seen in an increase in enquiries, real pen-to-paper progress started after the elections, with the post-election recovery already expected by July 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDriven by a generally positive sentiment regarding the expected market and political improvements in South Africa in an election year, the increased market activity we saw earlier in the year wasn\u2019t unexpected,” said Cobus Odendaal, CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby\u2019s International Realty in Johannesburg and Randburg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, the market’s resurgence post-election has been more dynamic than anticipated. In July, the turnover at our Randburg office tripled what it had been in previous months, and in Craighall, the monthly turnover doubled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis not only signals renewed confidence among buyers and investors in Johannesburg, but also reflects the first solid signs of restored confidence in the local market by local buyers, with Johannesburg naturally leading this revival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odendall said they started to see that many of the people who sold their properties in the last two years to liquidate their assets are now returning to the market to purchase, with a surprising few being cash buyers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHomeowners who sold their properties and chose to rent before making any final decisions are now returning to the market,” said Odendaal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These funds can be used to purchase property again, which signals a renewed confidence in the South African economy and a desire to invest in long-term assets.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving said that, we are still experiencing healthy activity in the more affordable rental market with demand still high for homes priced between R8,000 and R35,000 per month, but demand has declined noticeably for properties priced higher, and it seems to be limited to specific areas and corporate rentals.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that there has been a spike in enquiries from people who sold up to move abroad and foreign buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve started to receive enquiries from expats looking to move back and buy property again, which is very encouraging<\/strong>.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time a property expert has highlighted the return of South African expats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2023, Rory O\u2019Hagan, principal of the Chas Everitt Hyde Park and Sandton office<\/a>, said that expats are returning in droves to Gauteng, with many being drawn to the northern suburbs of Johannesburg due to their proximity to Sandton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other trends <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We\u2019re also fielding more enquiries from foreign nationals, although this interest is largely centred around return business with existing clients and specific referrals, rather than new entrants into the market, demonstrating the importance of established relationships and trusted networks,” said Odendaal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although large amounts of renewed activity are happening around the R2 million mark, secure sectional title properties in areas like Hyde Park and surrounds are especially popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Odendaal said there was also movement at the higher end of the market as people were willing to invest far more in South Africa, which he believes is a positive sign for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat said, we need to bear in mind that the top end is a relative concept, and I\u2019m not only referring only to homes in the R20 million plus band, which are slowly and tentatively attracting more enquiries; I\u2019m talking about the higher priced properties in each area where there has been a definite increase in demand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suspect that enquiries for trophy homes will translate to wet ink offers during the next quarter or two.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another sign of renewed market activity is a revival in the development sector, which is currently underway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’re already seeing increased activity from prominent investors focusing on smaller, exclusive developments and larger multi-unit projects,” said Odendaal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The latter, particularly one, two and three-bedroom units, are concentrated near shopping centres and business hubs, reflecting a strategic approach to meet the revived market demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Johannebsurg market has seen an improvement in market activity since the election, Odendaal said that the Johannesburg market is set to swing into a buyer’s market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the repo rate comes down, which is widely expected, this shift could accelerate, giving buyers even more leverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOver the next 12 months, I anticipate increased activity across the Highveld market, with continued restoration of confidence among buyers and investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This positive momentum, fuelled by a stabilised political environment and potential interest rate adjustments, should lead to more transactions and development projects.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd with business confidence also well on the way to recover, the Johannesburg market, in particular, is poised for sustained growth as both local and international interest will remain strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read: What interest rate cuts in South Africa will mean for the rand<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johannesburg’s property market has been been buoyed by the recent election, with many expats thinking of returning. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":789995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[26,10711],"class_list":["post-789954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-headline","tag-lew-geffen-sothebys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789954"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789954\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":790159,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789954\/revisions\/790159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}