“ Younger buyers want to see us walk the talk , and the three-man Evo team prides itself in this . As we are all just under 30 , and we have all put our money where our mouths are . Because property buyers see us owning our properties , they ask us for advice a lot , and being able to report back that experience and insight to them makes them feel more secure ,” Germanis says .
“ There ’ s nothing better than empowering someone to allow them to own their own home .”
“ Developments have always been an attractive option for homeowners because of the low initial transaction costs , such as not paying transfer duties or sometimes no attorney ' s fees ,” Germanis says .
Investing During Covid
Now , due to the economically devastating impact of covid19 , prices are dropping in new units and this allows first-time buyers to invest in a would-be expensive area . This especially appealing for tenants who want to buy , or would-be buyers in outerlying areas . Germanis says his company has experienced this on the ground , with millennials buying now .
“ Despite a perception that the studenthousing market took a battering , we actually saw the opposite . Younger , wouldbe , buyers across all racial groupings who had been living with their parents or in Cape Town ’ s outer-lying suburbs are now deciding to move out and are looking closer to town . Even properties that previously accommodated students in communal setups are now being converted into multilet arrangements , and are attracting a growing number of out-of-towners .”
“ There ’ s big demand from young professionals who work for the likes of Amazon or Woolworths Financial Services . Low interest rates , but also a demand for more privacy and space for them to work from home , is really driving demand ,” He says .
Even though gaining a lot of traction , Germanis believes that the central city isn ’ t the only area showing impressive growth . The market is showing that people are believing in their own place of residence , especially when looking at suburbs like Mitchells Plain .
“ For instance , younger people who work for Telkom , Eskom and SARS , earn excellent salaries and want to remain in those areas , whether it ’ s buying for the first time or investing in something a little bigger . Those areas are heavily community-driven , and everyone ’ s chatting to everyone else , so word gets out about a particular property , so selling and buying in these areas is not very difficult to navigate ,” Gernanis adds .
Working with the Youth
Digital marketing has remained at the forefront of how , Matthew McWilliams , Evo ’ s marketing director , has grown an impressive database of postgraduate students and young working professionals wanting to buy or rent .
“ Facebook and Instagram remain our top platforms , but we also see plenty of traffic through our website and first-to-market online apartment reservation system ,” Germanis concludes .
SOURCE Evo Properties
SA Real Estate Investor Magazine FEBRUARY 2021 27