Neighbourhood 12 DECEMBER 2021
PROPERTY & LIFESTYLE
Bold &
beautiful
Our special décor and design store guide is brimming with fresh ideas and delightful goodies to help spruce up your home, all ready for the happy new year, page 2
4 BUY A LUXURY HOME IN ZANZIBAR yourneighbourhood.co.za
7 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY’S REINVENTION
Connecting homeowners with great communities
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DESIGN & DÉCOR
12 DECEMBER 2021
From concept to carpet
Never underestimate the power of a beautiful carpet or an eye-catching rug in an interior space. And if you’re looking to update a room from drab to fab then MONN, the leading manufacturer of premium-quality, bespoke carpets, is your go-to place. It’s a product five generations in the making. Their experience and sterling reputation make each MONN carpet or rug the ultimate expression of expert craftmanship and creativity. Simply shop online and then let the experts supply, install and fit the finest quality local products in your home space.
Design shops to die
for
If you’re looking to improve the spaces in your home, be it to replace a simple lamp, a floor rug or do a full-on room makeover, these carefully selected design and décor stores will turn any challenge into an exciting refurb journey WORDS: NICKY OBEL
IMAGES: SUPPLIED
W
elcome to your décor and design home guide. We’ve found some fabulous décor stores any design enthusiast would love to visit – all proudly South African and with designers who are each a force to be reckoned with the world over. Whether it be online or in-store, these homeware and décor stores are expertly curated to offer something unique and exciting for everyone.
Be inspired
Be more. Create more. Furnish more.
If you’ve been looking for custom furniture, your search is over with this bespoke brand. Schönn is an online store offering timeless‑designed furniture and décor that are world-class. Their products allow you to design any room in your home with custom‑made furniture – each piece complementing the other perfectly. When visiting Schönn online, you will find a hands‑on salesforce waiting to assist and transform your vision into functional, yet absolutely beautiful high-quality furniture for any space under your roof.
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If you’re looking for a truly exciting décor and design experience, you have to visit KARE in Kramerville, Johannesburg. Although this store is not uniquely South African and features in a number of different countries it will put a big smile on your face. Allow yourself to be inspired by their extraordinary furniture, lights and accessories. KARE serves up not only great lifestyle products, but also fascinating interior design ideas specific to the current market trends, making shopping in their store a playful experience. It even offers its very own beautifully designed décor magazine where fabulous ideas spill from the pages. It’s free when you visit.
EDITORIAL TEAM
ADVERTISING SALES
Editor: Marana Brand marana@yourneighbourhood.co.za Sub-editor: Debbie Loots Designer: Samantha Durand Visit yourneighbourhood.co.za
Call us for advertising opportunities on 087 828 0423 Production (Editorial & Property Advertising): Lucea Goosen jhb@yourneighbourhood.co.za Online coordinator: Chantelle Balsdon chantelle@augmentcreative.com
12 DECEMBER 2021
DESIGN & DÉCOR
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A design experience
Another favourite design and décor store showcasing true South African home furniture and homeware, is Iconomy. Simply browse through their online catalogue or visit one of their two stores in Joburg to see how creative the designers in our country truly are. They make it so simple for us to perk up a room in our home, from trendy mirrors to beautiful wire art and great lighting. Iconomy serves all of these goodies up on a really creative platter. Even their wall shelving offers a totally unique design style. There is nothing boring about this iconic store – you can take our word for it.
Products with a story to tell
Walking around an Adele Catherine store in Johannesburg is truly a fabulous experience. Each offering – whether it be art, kitchenware, office goodies, décor products, scatters or throws, among many others – will not only pique your interest, but get your creative juices flowing. From monochromatic décor that’s both tactile and versatile, to diffusers and candles, body washes or lotions, each individually sourced and selected item is sure to uplift any environment. What’s more, the majority of the goods found in-store have been carefully curated, customised or chosen by the two owners – Adele and Catherine.
Handcrafted ceramics and more
Tile decals to DIY for
If you love a bit of simple DIY in your life, and a room in your home needs a quick and easy refresh – then look no further than Tilevera. Tilevera is an online store that offers some fabulous tile decals in a multitude of designs and colours. And the great news is it’s a quick and easy application giving your kitchen, bathroom or any tiled space that much-needed makeover you’ve been looking for.
Local is lekker and in this case it’s Rialheim. If you’re in the market for some truly original homeware products, lighting, bookends, bowls or pot plant holders you’ll be spoilt for choice at their Rand Steam store. Rialheim is fun, witty and stays totally true to its creative spirit. Back in the day, ceramics didn’t really have a place for the younger generation, but thanks to Rialheim’s quirky twist – that’s all changed. And to top it all – Rialheim pays homage to man’s best friend in a number of their offerings – you have to see it for yourself.
SEE FOR YOURSELF Schönn schonn.co.za Tilevera tilevera.co.za Adele Catherine adelecatherine.com Rialheim rialheim.co.za Iconomy iconomyonline.com KARE kare-design.com MONN monn.co.za
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PROPERTY NEWS
12 DECEMBER 2021
Zanzibar opens for property investment A new investment opportunity in Zanzibar allows South Africans to purchase affordable luxury property on this tropical island paradise, receive residency, as well as benefit from a host of attractive tax benefits. “Zanzibar only opened its doors to non-Tanzanian resident investors recently when the government announced a new tax and residency programme,” says Blue Amber managing director Saleh Said. “Prior to this, foreign buyers could not own property on the island at all.” It is the first time in the country’s history foreigners are allowed to invest here.
Located just off the East African coast in the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar (also known as the Spice Island) offers white sandy beaches, beautiful sunsets and landscapes, including forests. Although it’s a small island economy, Zanzibar is politically, socially, and economically stable and operates autonomously as part of the Republic of Tanzania, which has enjoyed relatively high economic growth over the last decade, averaging 6% to 7% per annumm, according to the World Bank. The economy is diverse with agriculture, quarrying, mining,
industry, electricity generation and services all playing a part – together with tourism.
The blue deal
“The Blue Amber resort enables non-Tanzanian residents to buy residential property in Zanzibar on 99-year leases with the option to extend ownership by 49 years,” says Said. Blue Amber is a luxury mixed‑use, seaside resort development which ribbons along 4km of magnificent, unspoilt Indian Ocean coastline – and occupies 410ha of tropical landscape on the north-eastern side of Zanzibar.
The resort is situated along an untouched natural beach, offering views of the pristine Muyuni beach and Mnemba Island. It incorporates residential, hotel, tourism, community and public amenities and is the largest resort development of its kind in East Africa. It’s positioned to become Zanzibar’s premier island resort hotel.
Numerous benefits
The country recognises Blue Amber as a strategic investment project, allowing property owners significant tax benefits such as a 15% tax rate on local income earned, no tax on worldwide
income, and no capital gains tax, stamp duty or inheritance tax on properties purchased. Additionally, property investors, together with their spouses and children under the age of 20, are eligible for residence permits during their property ownership. There’s also no time limit to be spent in the country to qualify. Starting from just over R3m (based on fluctuating rand/dollar exchange rates), South Africans can purchase a two-bedroom, two-bathroom luxury coastal villa in Blue Amber. Three, four and five-bedroom homes are also available.
Families enjoy golden gateway to Portugal Already a popular destination for South Africans wishing to obtain overseas citizenship to broaden educational and career opportunities for their children, Portugal’s Golden Visa programme has become firmly entrenched at the top of the priority list, particularly since the lockdowns, says Chris Immelman, who heads up Pam Golding International, which markets offshore property in numerous overseas countries. “This is because citizenship has now become a reality for our first applicants who have gone through the five-year residency‑by‑investment process and subsequently, after a further year, acquired European Union citizenship,” says Immelman. “By investing a minimum of €280,000 (±R5m) in a rural regeneration programme or €350,000 (±R6,2m) in an urban regeneration programme in Portugal, European residency is more affordable than ever, while investors also enjoy full return
of their funds at the end of the programme. To date Pam Golding International has assisted close to 400 South African families take advantage of Portugal’s Golden Visa programme, many of whom are in the final stages of acquiring residency and will soon be eligible to apply for citizenship.
Family legacy
“Our clients primarily seek to open a gateway to global opportunities for their children, who, with citizenship, are then able to live, study and work in any of the EU countries. The fact that South Africans have already successfully concluded the application process through residency status to citizenship, means that this is also soon within reach of the hundreds of other families who have entered the programme. They are creating a legacy for their families whereby ultimately, their families or adult children are able to study or work in major global cities such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Berlin, for example.”
Adds Immelman, “In providing this offering, we have partnered with the Mercan Group from Canada who have well-established credentials, having recently opened their first hotel, the magnificent five-star Casa da Companhia in Porto and with another four hotels scheduled to open within the next three months.”
New offerings
Immelman says the response to date to the latest investment opportunities has been enthusiastic. The first of these is the Marriott Lagos Beach & Sports Resort, close to Porto
de Mós beach in sunny Algarve. The five‑star hotel concept is designed to provide leisure time for the whole family with an array of sports and leisure activities available. The site is also adjacent to the established Boavista Golf & Spa Resort, where guests will enjoy privileged rates. The second development project is Lisboa Park by Moxy Marriot, located in the district of Alfragide, one of the largest business hubs in Lisbon. This vibrant business community will provide much‑needed hotel facilities to several nearby multinational
companies, including Siemens, Ikea and Vodafone. “These are blue-chip developments which also provide investors with seven days of free accommodation per year, EU residency for the whole family as soon as application is approved, visa-free travel throughout Schengen Europe, and EU citizenship possible after six years. While changes to the Golden Visa programme are due to take effect at the end of 2021, including an increase in the investment threshold, those taking advantage of these investment options will not be affected in any way.”
12 DECEMBER 2021
PROPERTY TRENDS
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Additional supply is also coming to market because of projects planned and started well before the pandemic. At the beginning of 2020, about 263,000m² was in the pipeline, which slowed to about 47,000m² by Q3 2021. Overall, occupiers want maximum flexibility, considering their demand for space in the short and medium term is relatively unknown or unconfirmed. Occupants prefer flexibility to either work from home or to do so on a rotational basis. This could most likely be a long-term trend post the vaccination rollout. Occupiers are increasingly focused on understanding what the future workplace will look like and how it affects their existing real estate structure.
Breaking new
More corporates in this market are looking not only to optimise operational functions in terms of cost, but also based on the size of their requirements.
commercial
Landlords, on the other hand, are seeking strategies to drive occupancy of their buildings. These range from more flexible lease terms and notable rental discounts (on a case-bycase basis) to looking at less traditional uses for their buildings, such as the co-working model. Furthermore, landlords are looking at repurposing surplus or vacant space.
ground
In the long term, space requirements are likely to go up due to the increased need for social distancing
The onset of Covid-19 did not only affect people and communities, it also impacted the global economy. While the commercial property market is no exception, an array of trends and new opportunities have emerged here as a result WORDS: ATLEHANG RAMATHESELE IMAGES: SUPPLIED
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he pandemic's hard knock on property in Africa and across the globe may be palpable, but it has also given rise to many innovative solutions. With a footprint spanning various parts of Africa, including a diverse portfolio of clients and services across 13 countries in which 737,325m² of retail space has been leased over the past five years, pan-African real estate provider Broll Property Group is well versed on the matter and setting its sights beyond 2021.
Future outlook
The outlook for each country’s market at any given time is largely tied to the expectations on the performance of the wider economy in that country, and it’s likely these trends will persist in the short to medium term, says Roger Long,
director of valuation and advisory services, Broll Property Group. In the throes of the pandemic, it was initially anticipated the hardest hit property sector would be retail due to the lockdowns and subsequent inability to trade. However, many malls and most of the smaller centres have, in fact, fared relatively well during the past 14 months. This may be attributed to landlords acting swiftly with rent reductions and deferments, for instance, resulting in many retailers managing to stay afloat, thereby preserving the rental income of the asset. Instead, the office sector has been the hardest-hit asset class in South Africa, and the pressures are not expected to ease in the coming
months. The fallout in the office market has seen property buying and rental values recede sharply. In the early stages of the pandemic, several occupiers held firm and retained space during the lockdowns. Landlords were therefore still receiving most of their income even from empty buildings, but vacancies are now rising as occupiers decide they no longer need as much space. Offices in smaller outlying towns are not as badly affected due to a more limited offering.
Flexibility is key
The South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) reported Q3 2020 vacancies reached an all-time high of 15,4%, while the pre-Covid-19 level was 11,6%.
Broll Group CEO Malcolm Horne believes adaption in this current climate is golden with redesigning and reconfiguring of spaces prioritised in the future.
Offices repurposed
Statistics that show a slow return to offices across the continent is largely because of a sluggish vaccination rollout. People are still seeing a lot of hybrid working and workingfrom-home opportunities, so returning to the office is delayed alongside rationalising of space. “The space ratio people used to occupy was less than 10m² per person. It’s going to increase because there will be spatial distancing,” says Horne. “We went through a decompression phase where optimisation was the name of the game, and now it’s going to increase again.” Prime logistics facilities are doing well, not only in South Africa but across the continent. Furthermore, the growth in online retail has seen a corresponding rise in interest in data centres as companies move to exploit opportunities in the online sector. Several data centre companies are expanding in strategic locations across West and East Africa, as well as in South Africa. Horne has seen many other asset classes gain traction during the pandemic, including hospitals, spheres in life sciences and research and development, as well as the cold storage arena. “This is because of the prepackaging of meat and smaller, more decentralised storage centres due to home deliveries,” says Horne. The housing sector, including student and social accommodation, has also seen an uptick in demand.