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Living in Zoom Towns According to the latest FNB Estate Agent Survey( Q4,20), 11 % of all sales in the final quarter of 2020 were due to the relocation of the homeowner to another part of SA. The percentage was also 11 % in Q2 and is the highest percentage since Q1 2008, when 13 % of all sales were due to relocation within SA. So, while relocation fell in popularity during 2018 and 2019, the impact of the pandemic and associated lockdown is clearly evident in 2020.
Western Cape, but also from Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
“ Many of our buyers have always wanted to live here, but were only able to consider it as a retirement dream- so they made do with weekends and holidays. Now, however, they see these towns as permanent residential locations as they are able to work remotely, with Cape Town International between 75km and 90km via the spectacularly-scenic, world-renowned, R44 Whale Coast route- Clarence Drive,” says Nicola Lloyd, Pam Golding area manager for Rooi Els, Pringle Bay, Bettys Bay and Kleinmond.
According to Lloyd, there are now more younger buyers and families that are starting to flock these towns. She further says that the major demand is for homes priced between R2 million and R3 million.
Relocating to these zoom towns is more about the needs of the buyers and not necessarily dependant on what sellers offer. If you are eager to move out of the bustling and overpriced metropoles to smaller, more secure communities you might want to consider these areas popular with fellow semigrants.
In the Western Cape various villages such as Rooi Els, Pringle Bay, Bettys Bay, Kleinmond, Malmesbury, Hermanus, Onrus and Gansbaai, which offer easy access to Cape Town, are attracting home buyers not only from the Mother City and
In almost every aspect of life, the early bird catches the first worm. And in property, the early adopter enjoys the returns longer than the late one. Right now, people are moving to more relaxed and scenic areas, to put their minds and finances at ease. This, to a point where some zoom towns will inevitably feel the strain of their increased populations and may soon become just as overburdened and unaffordable as the cities the semigrants originally flocked. If you want to live or invest in a zoom town, there ' s no better time than now.
SOURCES Pam Golding, Seeff Properties, Crossways Farm Village, FNB, Lightstone, Slangit
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine FEBRUARY 2021 15