Cape Town CBD property market sees surprisingly high demand

Investment into Cape Town’s CBD property market seems to be enjoying the first signs of post-pandemic optimism, with buyers keen to get in on the action, notably in the buy-to-let space. Justin van der Poel, investment consultant at Flyt Property Investments who are currently marketing units at One Thibault off Long Street, says that the sales team has been pleasantly surprised at the interest and closing rate of units in the development.

The firm initially offered units to investors via their popular Section 12J Flyt Select fund, which accounted for the majority of sales, but van der Poel says that the units have been popular since the expiry of SARS’s Section 12J tax incentive. Speaking at a media site inspection of the property, van der Poel confirmed the ongoing activity: “We continue to see strong interest week in and week out with only 20 units of the 167 still available,” he said.   “The sales team have achieved 31 sales in the past three months, bringing the total sales up to 147 since we launched off-plan in May.” Show units will open this week and the team are expecting a further uptick in sales.

With currently as many as six new developments or refurbished buildings on offer in Cape Town’s CBD, Property Fund Manager Ryan Flowers says that the success at One Thibault can be attributed to the competitive selling prices and Flyt’s offering. “We could definitely say that the view has a lot to do with it, but our product offering at One Thibault is extremely attractive to investors,” he explains. Flyt have stuck to their Section 12J hospitality structure, with investment into One Thibault wrapped with on-site hospitality management company, WINK ApartHotels, taking care of rental management and administration. Entry level into their studio apartments kicks off at R895 000 where an expected rental return on Investment of 6-7%.

Residential apartments, which start from the fifteenth floor of the historic building, are almost complete and studio, one- and two-bedroom units are available for viewing. The property has been designed to include co-working space, laundry facilities, an on-site restaurant, a swimming pool and roof deck, reception and concierge as well as storage space, parking and high-speed internet.