Destinations: South Africa

DESTINATION

Plenty to love about South Africa

Cape Town is the #1 tourist spot because it has it all – stunning beaches, spectacular scenery, great food and wine, and close-up wildlife encounters.

Take a five-minute cable car to the top of Table Mountain. Hike Platteklip Gorge. Sight-see in Bo-Kaap or on Robben Island.

Cape of Good Hope is Africa’s southwesternmost point. It’s where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet and is regarded as one of the most treacherous stretches of water in the world. Tour the Cape Peninsula and visit the seaside villages of Scarborough and Simons Towns and Boulders Beach. Safaris are a major drawcard. Everyone wants to spot the ‘Big Five’ - elephant, lion, leopard, rhinoceros and buffalo. Kruger National Park is world-famous. Addo Elephant National Park was set up to protect the last of the elephant herds and adds Great White sharks and Southern Right whales to make up the ‘Big Seven’.

Drive the Garden Route from Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay along the south-western tip. Popular spots include the Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma ranges; Hermanus for whale watching; Knysna lagoon, Oudtshoorn; the ‘ostrich capital of the world’; Cango Caves for some of the world’s largest stalagmite formations; and Bloukrans Bridge, the world’s highest commercial bungee jump.

Dragon Mountain in the Drakensberg Ranges is the highest mountain in South Africa and said to be the inspiration behind J.R.R Tolkien’s Misty Mountains in his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Add to the list these slightly lesser known adventures:

Cradle of Humankind is a UNESCO World Heritage site just 50km outside of Johannesburg, where 15 fossil sites with a huge collection of Hominin fossils and stone tools document the times of nearly four million years.

Go horse-riding in Namaqualand National Park. In August, ride through wildflowers alongside zebras and other mammals during the day and camp under the stars at night.

If sharks are your thing, do a cage dive with great white sharks in Gansbaai, visit the Cathedral dive site at Aliwal Shaol during ragged tooth shark season or visit around mid-June to mid-July for the legendary sardine run.

Finally, not to be overlooked are the friendly folk of South Africa who will greet you warmly and the wonderful diversity and affordability of South Africa’s food and wine. The Cape Winelands region, just north of Cape Town, is home to historic wine estates and beautiful old architecture, or Stellenbosch, the birthplace of Pinotage.

INVESTOR ALERT: HIGH DEMAND FOR SHORT-TERM RENTALS

Seaside Escapes (Western Cape)

The Western Cape is the place to be – provided you can withstand its icy waters. For bustling shorelines close to trendy eateries and pubs, visit Camps Bay or Plettenberg Bay; and St Helena Bay and Wilderness for more remote seaside escapes.

Bushveld Retreats (Mpumalanga and Limpopo)

Mpumalanga and Limpopo are South Africa’s best provinces for game viewings and safari holidays. Bela-Bela in Limpopo and Lydenburg in Mpumalanga are great tourist towns.

Haven for Adventurers (Kwazulu-Natal)

Home to the Drakensburg Mountain range, Kwazulu-Natal is the perfect province for avid adventurers with canopy tours to mountain bike trails and fly-fishing sites. Howick is a good base close to the iconic mountain range.

Kalk Bay: one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the world

INVESTOR ALERT: YEAR-ROUND RENTAL OPPORTUNITIES AND RETURNS THROUGH ANNUAL HOUSE PRICE GROWTH

South Africa is a treasure trove of tourist destination ‘hidden gems’ such as the quaint suburb of Kalk Bay, dubbed one of the ‘coolest neighbourhoods around the world’ by Forbes magazine. There are boutique stores, the iconic Olympia Café, the Dalebrook rock pool, a quaint harbour, surf and mountain views. The median asking price of a freehold title last year was R6 million (approx. $599k AUD and $623k NZD)

Buying real estate

The most desirable Johannesburg neighbourhoods are found in the north of the city, including suburbs like Dunkeld, Hyde Park, Houghton, Illovo, Inanda, Melrose, Parkhurst, Parktown, Parkview, Sandhurst, Saxonwold and Westcliff.

In Cape Town, City Bowl is an upscale residential suburb with a vibrant cosmopolitan lifestyle. Atlantic Seaboard properties are among the most sought-after, in upscale neighbourhoods like Bakoven, Bantry Bay, Camps, Clifton, Fresnaye, Green Point and Mouille Point.

To buy a permanent holding or holiday home, expect to pay on average up to R1mil for a small home of up to 140sqm (approx. $100,000 AUD/NZD), R2 million for a medium-sized home (141sqm to 220sqm) and between R20 million to R50 million (approx. $2mil to $5mil AUD/NZD) for top-end luxury homes.

For around a $1mil AUD/NZD spend in Cape Town, you could pick up a four-bedroom home with a pool and garden in a typical suburb, an oceanfront apartment or a residential golf course property.

While around 38% of homes sold for R400 000 and below in the first quarter of 2018 according to a RE/MAX National Housing Report, entry-level homes in decent suburbs are generally R1 mill+ .

Want to know more?

https://www.remax.co.za/

RE/MAX of Southern Africa has more than 2,450 agents operating from 175-plus offices in ten countries.

It was the first country RE/MAX franchise to be sold outside of North America and is the largest real estate company in South Africa today.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF PROPERTY

At the time of writing, there were no restrictions but there are guidelines and steps all purchasers must be aware of. E.G. all foreign funds remitted to the country must be declared and documented, the property must be endorsed ‘non-resident’ as a condition for repatriation of funds and non-resident investors must pay Capital Gains Tax on the property’s sale. Tax on the profit of the sale of a property is calculated according to the local tax laws of the country to which a seller hopes to transfer the funds. Non-residents intending to stay in their property for long periods must comply with the SA Immigration Act. PLEASE CHECK THIS INFORMATION WITH THE RELEVANT AUTHORITY.