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www.thevillagenews.co.za
30 October 2019
MY HOME
World-class properties an international drawcard By Stephen de Stadler Managing Director Fine & Country Hermanus, Arabella and Kleinmond
few weeks as the key opposition political party seems to be imploding from within, has however yet to be seen. From a foreign direct investment perspective, strong opposition to ruling parties is important, as they do act as a backstop should the ruling party decide to set out on a negative tangent. For the record, this is not a conversation about South Africa, but merely a general comment regarding investor sentiment.
T
he mournful tones of the kelp horn as blown by the Hermanus Whale Crier have been heard on a more regular basis over the past week. Because sightings of whales have not been as frequent as they have in previous years, we also rushed down to Gearing’s Point to try to spot these magnificent mammals of the ocean. Two whales were seen gliding past the point, and as they often do, a tail was raised in friendly greeting, eliciting gasps of delight from various tourists observing nature at its best. I started chatting to a couple from Germany, who had heard the horn while out on a post-breakfast walk and were not sure whether to find a safe place to hide, but wisely decided to follow a large tour group which had obviously been told the story of the Whale Crier of Hermanus. They have been visiting South Africa for many years, but this was the first time they had experienced the sound of the horn and the sighting of the whales. (I assume that their previous visits
had not been to our part of the Western Cape!) They had just arrived from a trip up North and were truly delighted that they could now boast of having seen the Big Five as well as the whales of Hermanus on the same trip. As an aside, the Whale Crier has been in operation since 1992, although the idea was mooted in 1991 when a tourist exclaimed that he had just seen “the best-kept secret in the Cape”. Originally, people used to phone sightings in to
the local radio station, but within a short time the first Whale Crier was employed. But back to my couple from Germany (Dresden to be exact). Being an estate agent means that the desire to match a buyer to a seller is never far from one’s mind. We started sharing some personal details and soon got onto the topic of houses. When I identified a few homes nearby and started answering their questions regarding prices, I could immediately see the relative cost of houses in Hermanus start to make a positive impression on them. Where else can you buy a home in a coastal setting from as little as €100,000? It is so important that we who are fortunate enough to live and work in this part of the country continue to sell our region and its positive aspects to the rest of the world. Economically, we are in a difficult situation at the moment, but recent improvements in sentiment towards emerging markets have seen a strengthening of the Rand. To what extent this will continue over the next
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Internationally, our homes are offered for sale alongside other exclusive homes in the rest of the world. Whether it is Mosman Park or North Coogee in Perth, or Waikiki in Western Australia; the beach resorts in Cape Verde; Cannes, Grimaud or St Tropez in France, our houses can stand alongside any of these in terms of position and architectural splendour. Along the Catalan coast in Spain, through Portugal, the United Kingdom and onwards to Dubai and Thailand, exclusive properties worldwide stand alongside those in Knysna, George, Sea Point, Camps Bay and, of course, Hermanus. The only real distinction, and a truly positive one, is that on conversion to a foreign currency, our properties are very affordable. What is required in order to bring that much-needed capital to South Africa is stability and predictability. Stability in the environment and knowledge as to what is likely to occur in the future are essential for any investor looking to take a longer term view. Let us all work together, resolve our issues without resorting to violence of any kind, and continue to sing our own praises, because we deserve them. Let the world always see South Africa as it experienced us through the Ndlovu Youth Choir, who by the way, truly deserves every South African’s heartfelt congratulations. The views expressed above are those of the writer in his personal capacity and may not necessarily reflect the views of Fine & Country as a national and international brand.
