On 15th November Andrew Golding, Chief Executive Officer of Pam Golding Properties, addressed the media at PGP’s annual luncheon for the press in Cape Town, South Africa. Dr Golding provided an update on the property industry performance over the past 12 months and looked ahead to the upcoming year.
“South Africans have an ongoing appetite for investment in global property in order to diversify their portfolios , gaining access to sought after lifestyle options, achieving a rand hedge in times of economic uncertainty – as well as securing the advantage of residence or citizen status and creating international opportunities for their children to study, live and work abroad,” said Golding.
Earlier this year Pam Golding Properties partnered with global investment-migration firm Henley & Partners, to provide buyers seeking international property assets with a view to acquiring dual residence or citizenship, an end-to-end service.
In Mauritius, Africa’s fast growing wealth economy, there is a rampant demand for property, underpinned by a growing interest in doing business from the island as a strategic base into Africa. A very important factor for South Africans is the fact that Mauritius offers one of the most affordable permanent residence schemes around – a purchase of property for US$500 000 gets a person and their spouse and children under the age of 24 the right to reside full time on the island. Pam Golding Properties focuses its on attention on Grand Baie and Black River areas because that is where the infrastructure is and expats and business professionals want to reside, also making it easily rentable. The company has just launched the SAOTA apartments in Grand Baie, with 18 reservations in just one day, of apartments priced from US$385 000.
In Eden Island, Seychelles, which is rapidly reaching completion, with the total build due for completion in early 2019, from 2006 to date PGP has sold 535 units to a total value of US$500 million, with only 31 remaining units comprising a mix of apartments, maisons and villas, including four exclusive penthouses. Current prices range from US$455 000 to US$3.3 million and the total sell-out value of homes represents US$550 million. About 38% of buyers are South Africans and Eden Island is home to people from 43 different nationalities. Up to 15% of home owners live there permanently.
PGP was recently appointed to market luxury apartments and villas in the first phase of the groundbreaking Zanzibar Amber Resort, which is a world-class beach, golf and hospitality resort situated on the prime north-eastern coast of Zanzibar, just off the Tanzanian coastline. They will be launching this property with 46, two to four bedroom luxury villas ranging in price from US$670 000 to US$1.7 million. In addition to this, there will be 13 opportunities for five to six bedroom, super luxury villas starting from US$4 million.
Finally, in Africa, the second half of the year has seen an improvement in the property market, particularly in Kenya where PGP has a mandate in The Pinnacle in Nairobi, which, with the larger tower being 300m, will be the tallest building in Africa. This is a mix of hospitality, commercial and residential which should find acceptance in the market place as an ideally positioned mixed-use development. “We continue to look for opportunities to expand into Africa with sights set on Ghana and Tanzania for opportunities to work with local property entrepreneurs,” concluded Golding.
