It's been a dry season for foreign buyers all over SA‚ not just in Cape

Has the drought in Cape Town kept foreign property buyers away? No more than political gloom affecting the whole country.

That’s the view of property expert John Loos‚ who said: “We are frequently asked whether Cape Town has seen a foreign buyer decline due to the drought. It has seen a foreign buyer decline in 2017‚ but … so has South Africa as a whole.”

Loos‚ household and property sector strategist at FNB‚ said an estate agent survey had also revealed a decline in expatriate property purchases.

“The perceived national weakening in both of these categories of demand‚ which included declines in recent quarters in Gauteng too‚ make it impossible to conclude that drought conditions have to date played a major role in curbing foreign demand in Cape Town‚” he said.

“Rather‚ it is possible that this weakening was significantly reflective of a dampened investor sentiment towards South Africa in general last year‚ which in turn is the result of the country’s multi-year economic stagnation‚ uncertainty regarding future economic policy‚ and widely publicised negative news such as the recent sovereign rating downgrades to junk status.”

The survey found that 2018 started with a “noticeably more positive mood” due to the stronger rand and possibly the ANC leadership change.

Paul French‚ commercial director for the Coastal Property Group‚ said although price growth has slowed because of the economic slowdown “the Cape remains an excellent proposition for buyers and investors”.

He said the Mother City remained a favourite among buyers from UK‚ Germany‚ the Netherlands and other Benelux countries.

“The city is popular for the northern hemisphere people to escape to over their cold winters. The Cape is also popular with retirement buyers from Europe‚” said French.

In 2016 a German businessman paid R290-million in cash for a Bantry Bay home‚ making it the biggest residential property sale in Africa.