Property knowledge and up to date information underpins good decisions. Quoin Online has
partnered with the Urban Real Estate Research Unit (URERU) based at UCT and SAPOA, to run four
in-contact seminars a year. The first for 2023 was held on 25 January. The topic was “ What can we
expect from the Cape Town Property Market in 2023. The speakers were Rob Kane, the CEO of
Boxwood Property Fund & Chairman of the Cape Town CCID and, Prof Francois Viruly, Head of
URERU.
We had a packed auditorium with a chance to meet and connect after, and in true Cape Town style,
lots of wine….and a few snacks. Cape Town has been in the news for all the right reasons recently.
Semigration, better managed load shedding, and a City that seems to work.
Research has shown that the Western Cape’s economic structure has a large private sector, powered
by the services industry and a skilled workforce.
Remote working opportunities, a quality lifestyle, decent infrastructure and a perception of good
governance has seen the migration of skilled professionals from other provinces.
The city centre has seen various nodes developing, and although the Covid pandemic slowed things
down, construction cranes are still a feature of the city skyline. Cape Town is a city of nodes and,
across the nodes there is development. The new Investec building at the V&A Waterfront is nearing
completion while on the other end of the city, the Harbour Arch precinct, with its strong residential
component, is also nearing completion. On the edge of Salt River/Observatory, the Amazon campus
is being encased with glass. These are all new precincts being developed and engender confidence
in the growth of the city and are catalysts for development in those nodes.
The 2022 summer season was a boon for the hospitality industry with many hoteliers recording
figures equal to, if not better than pre Covid 2019.
This is however tempered by rising interest rates and the effects of loadshedding. But as much as
these factors temper growth prospects, they are also the catalysts for the migration to the City, and
the province.
A pleasant and informative evening was had by all, and all things being equal, the prospects for
property across all the sectors, seems strong. Whether Cape Town will overtake Johannesburg as
the economic powerhouse of South Africa is debatable, but it certainly is giving it a run for its
money…..literally.
