Russians paying millions for Cape Town properties, says agent

THERE has been an uptick in Russian interest in property along Cape Town’s upmarket Atlantic Seaboard, according to Ross Levin, licensee for Seeff Atlantic Seaboard and City Bowl.

For example, a Russian buyer recently invested more than R70 million in a property in Fresnaye on the slopes of Signal Hill.

This is the highest volume of interest that he has seen from Russian buyers in recent years. Following the invasion of Ukraine, some European countries have suspended visa issuance and restricted immigration rules for Russian citizens.

“They obviously see property on the Atlantic Seaboard as a good investment,” adds Levin.

He has also seen an increase in buyers from the UK and Northern European countries like Germany looking to invest in property on the Atlantic Seaboard.

“Despite the economic and interest rate challenges, there has, for example, already been over R1 billion in sales above R20 million this year, including several sales to UK, German and French buyers, in addition to the sales made to Russian buyers,” says Levin.

A representative of another large property agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told News24 of anecdotal reports that a couple of properties in Hout Bay, Cape Town, recently sold to Russian buyers. However, she said her group has not received any Russian queries recently.

Statistics from March 2022 to April 2023 show that 23% of RE/MAX’s sold listings on the Atlantic Seaboard in Cape Town were sold to foreign buyers and 21% of its sold listings in Cape Town’s City Bowl were sold to foreign buyers.

“This is a big jump from 2020 and it has steadily increased since then. Most foreign buyers are from Europe with the largest number of those being from Germany. In addition, we have significant numbers buying from America and the UK,” says Susan Watts, broker-owner of RE/MAX Living.

Chris van der Merwe, broker-manager of RE/MAX Coastal, says most buyers in his area are cash buyers, because they are selling their homes in other provinces in South Africa to move to the Garden Route. They are basically semigrating from Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Cape Town area.

“We have also seen the return of foreigners to our area after the pandemic, as the exchange rate is extremely favourable for them at the moment. We have recently sold to German, Swiss, and UK buyers,” says Van der Merwe. – news24.com