Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - April 2017 | Page 30

INNER CITY INVESTMENTS
Urban Apartments
Freestanding Homes?
BY KATE THOMPSON-DUWE
W
hen purchasing property, a buyer’s
mentality has historically been to get as
many square metres as possible for their
spend, but this is no longer the case. Today, a fast-
moving global trend is towards buying inner-city or
urban property, which a lot of the time is on a smaller
erf or within a development, but with a far higher rate
of return in both resales and rentals.
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Besides the bigger movement towards living in the
city for convenience, many of today’s homeowners
don’t want the hassle of maintenance and security
issues that come with a freestanding home on a larger
tract of land. Thus, the lock-up-’n-go nature of an
urban apartment is far more attractive.
Along with these changes in global trends, the
urban property buyer profile is evolving too, and now
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