Listed property outperforming

South Africa's listed property will remain to attract investors seeking firmer ground for trading.

Last year, equities outperformed the listed property sector as an asset class, although head of property funds, Keillen Ndlovun at Stanlib, delivered convincing reasons to include listed property in investors’ portfolios, during last month’s IPD SA conference in Sandton.

He quoted the Hebrew proverb, “He is not a full man who does not own a piece of land.”

Listed property of South Africa delivered total returns of 8.4% last year, overtaking cash and bonds. Bonds returned 0.6% as cash returned 5.2%. Last year however, since 2009, equities overtook listed property for the first time, with a 21.4% total return, over double the sector’s 8.4%. Over the previous 15 years, listed property has overtaken bonds by 13.3% each year, a direct consequence of the asset class’s ability to produce inflation-beating income growth.

Foreign buyers purchase within developing regions of South Africa

Nigerians have been ranked amongst some of the top foreign buyers of choice properties throughout different parts of South Africa, who are particularly focusing on developing areas rather than the major regions of Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

For example, Nigerians alongside other foreign buyers purchased around 670 properties worth approximately R800million in Kwazulu Natal and 260 properties worth approximately R23million in the Eastern Cape. It has been revealed that there is a growing trend amongst the said foreign buyers towards purchasing properties in South Africa as an investment, rather than for personal use.