2006 was another positive year for Hout Bay property, despite a sluggish start. The national average growth was about 9.7% in real terms. The 15% growth in nominal terms was a good performance considering it was preceded by nominal growth of 32% in 2004 and 22% in 2005.
2006 also performed better in terms of volume of sales with about 495 sales compared to about 380 in 2005. Interesting that new developments increased dramatically with over 100 new sales in Hout Bay.
Interest rates were raised from 10.5% at the beginning of the year and ended up at 12.5% in December 2006. It is expected that the rate is set to increase to 13.5% within the first half of this year. Economists say that barring any unforeseen
circumstances the rate may start coming down in 2008.
Hout Bay property prices are affected by the relationship between the rand and the British pound. International ownership of Hout Bay property is on the region of 30%. Our particular agency focuses on selling property to international buyers and in 2006 62% of our sales were to international buyers, the majority from the UK (where we have an affiliate office in Mayfair, London
offering us “real international exposure”) but also several from Europe and a few from the Americas.
In January 2006 the ZAR/GBP was 10.91, dropping to about 10.5 at one stage and ending the year at about 13.68. In the new year the rate has dropped to 14.09. The devaluation accounts for about a 27% decrease in real terms for international
buyers- which explains the increase in sales in the second half of the year.
International buyers are educated to use the internet when researching communities and properties. The worlds largest search engine Google, which controls about 85% of all searches, features Matt Mercer Real Estate at the top of searches for “Hout Bay”. If you are selling speak to the Hout Bay Specialists Ph: 0217908897
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