MAIN FEATURE
R30 000-R39 999 / m ² category in both 2018 and 2019 to the lower band in 2020 . This can be attributed to the price correction in the national residential housing market in recent years which has brought house prices in line with prevailing economic realities .”
In 2020 , the median price of R1.65 million for sectional title units represents an 8.3 % decline relative to the median price achieved in 2019 , which was R1.8 million . In 2020 , 130 units were sold compared with 174 the previous year .
In terms of rentals , at the end of 2020 ( end-January 2021 ), a total of 475 units were listed on Property24 . com as available for rent in the Cape Town Central City . This compares to 180 units listed end-2019 .
Says Kane : “ There was a significant increase in available rental stock in 2020 as repeated lockdowns and subsequent travel restrictions impacted the tourism and eventing industry . This prompted numerous units , which were previously available as short-term lets such as AirBnB , being added to the long-term rental pool .”
Emerging Economies A key theme of the 2020 report is the fledgling cannabis industry which holds huge economic potential for the Western Cape , Cape Town and the CBD . The province is attracting significant
20 OCT 2021 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine investor interest in medicinal cannabis based on its strength in agriculture , and because the Mother City is becoming Africa ’ s leader in pharmaceutical development , health tech and biotech . The value of Western Cape agriculture and agri-processing exports in 2020 was R77.2 billion .
While medicinal cannabis is still an emerging sector , projections from a Wesgro report suggest that the global legal cannabis market is set to grow by 20 % per annum in 10 years . By 2023 , South Africa ’ s legal cannabis market could be worth R106 billion per annum
Business owners and retailers are keen to capitalise on this trend , with market leader Southern Sky Group setting up Africa ’ s first CBD ( a cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant and used in products ) store , Goodleaf , in the Cape Town CBD in 2019 . Business showed positive growth in 2020 despite the pandemic .
Another key economy to flourish in the Cape Town CBD in 2020 was the Business Process Outsourcing ( BPO ) sector , the report notes . The BPO call centre sector employs more than 60 000 people in Cape Town with over 17 037 of them being employed in the last three years . A total of 23 call centres are based in the Cape Town CBD , comprising 11 international and 12 local centres employing over 16 000 people .