Real Estate Investor Magazine July/ Aug 2020 July 2020 | Page 50

INVESTOR INTELLIGENCE
Regroup,
reflect &
restart
Invest offshore
post Covid-19
SIDIMA MFEKU
The economic impact of Covid has been felt by the entire
globe. As economies of various countries start to re-open and
gear up for the new normal, the need to rent, buy and sell real
estate is crawling back. Now is the time to reignite the real
estate sector around the world.
S
ince the closing down of economic activity in South
Africa, every sector has been battling the possibility of
losing everything post Covid. It has been particularly
difficult for the tourism industry. The tourism and hospitality
sectors are one of the biggest contributors to the revenue of
the offshore real estate industry.
Investing in any foreign investment destination during
these volatile times might call for a lot of courage and
motivation from investors. Savvy investors or beginners - both
will need conviction that post Covid the normal will be slightly,
but not completely, different from the already known benefits
of investing in the offshore real estate sector.
Investing in the time of Covid
The way in which various countries’ governments have
handled the Coronavirus pandemic and its spread shows the
amount of dedication in the leadership of that jurisdiction.
This in turn illustrates the stability of an economy and appeal
to investors.
Renowned South African property developer, John
Rabie, believes that Portugal has dodged the Covid bullet
quite impressively. “Portugal has come out of Covid-19
in a remarkable way. With the population of the country
containing about 10 million people there is a lot more activity
during this time of the pandemic than it has been in other
major populated countries,” says Rabie.
46 JULY/AUGUST 2020 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
Rabie further said that according to research conducted by
PwC, Portugal is among the four countries that are expected
to have an easy transition back into normal economic activity
post Covid-19. Portugal’s expected success post-Covid is an
accurate reflection of the economy pre-Covid as well.
PwC Report: Emerging Trends Europe 2019 states: “Lisbon is
this year’s choice for overall prospects… Portugal’s economy is
growing at a healthy clip, and its capital is now an international
destination for companies, investors and tourists. It’s on
everyone’s platter of cities they like.”
Rabie says when considering investing in any sector or
country, it is important that all key business and intension for
investment be checked before investing. “When we look at
property, we don’t look at it from the Golden Visa perspective,
we look at it from the merits of where we believe we would like
to develop. For us we had found a city in Portugal where we
could do what we had been doing in Cape Town, South Africa.”
“Interestingly for our buyers’ interest rates, we have
discovered that you can borrow today at 1% for 30-year
mortgages. So, the affordability here is great - it’s not expensive
at all,” Rabie says.
A joint venture between Neworld, a European-domiciled
entity established by John Rabie and Swiss-based real estate
developer GMG Real Estate, presents LX Living. The brandnew,
mixed-use development is in Amoreiras, a sought-after
residential neighbourhood in central Lisbon.