I've just returned from a fantastic holiday in Cape Town South Africa and had a look at properties. It seemed to me to be a most beautiful city to live in with a great lifestyle and masses of first world conveniences. We looked at 4 bed properties with a pool and sometimes a granny flat attached - all for 120 000 to 150 000 pounds.

Is this too good to be true? Any South Africans on this forum to give me some insight. I am hugely tempted to emigrate before prices rise further.

Thanks

Can you live with the threat of crime, driving with locked car doors and looking over your shoulder every time you visit a cash machine, then it is one of the best places in the world.
Hout bay is 90% British owned and i know there is a speculative bubble there, its neared its peak now through speculative investment, should lag the UK by 6-8 months. Holidays are Holidays, Living there is Quite different, think very carefully.

I am one of the hundreds of Soth Africans living in London. Cape Town is one of the best places in the world to live. You must be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that people in Cape Town earn Rand salaries equivalent to those in a similar role in the UK. They don't and there is a massive salary devide.

I was interested in the stat that 90% of property is owned by UK citizens ..... where does this come from I find it hard to believe. Also to so confidently predict when the SA market will follow the UK market (I think you said 6-8 months) is extraordinary, you must be incredibly rich with such forcasting skills. I also think it is very arrogant to think that the WHOLE South African property market will follow the UK, just because there is some foreign investment in Cape Town ...... South Africa is a lot bigger than that!!

For UK salary people property in SA is very very cheap, for the vast majority of the SA population it is getting more and more expensive. However, the latest govt stats say that the average 25 yera mortgage is currently being paid of in less than 12 years ...... that suggests this market has some way to go yet.....

Consa,

I often feel under a lot more threat riding the train with a bunch of little yobbos than what I ever felt living in South Africa!

There is a crime problem in South Africa - not half as bad as you and the UK media will have people believe though!

If Cape Town is that great (and I've never been so I can;t comment for or against) why are there soooo many South Africans over here? Can it surely be just about money?

It's the same with Ozzies (can comment, i've been there). They are forever telling me how great back home is, whilst working sh!te hours, in a dingy bar! Why?

I can;t understand it!

Raven,

I can't answer for the Aussies in the dodgy bars, however I came over to pay of my student debt (debt in Rand, earn in Pounds makes a lot of sense)

I have stayed longer than I thought I would, basically because I love travelling and earning well like I do and being based in the UK it is ideal to get to anywhere in the world. It also makes sense for me to save hard here for a few years and then if I do ever decide to go back I will never have to worry about a mortgage because the pound stretches so far.

I think most South Africans that are in the UK for longer than 2 years use the same logic as above. Don't get us wrong, we love working in the UK - we lead a great lifestyle with all the traveling we do and we are valued highly in the london job market - winning combination really.

The day we decide we don't like the UK anymore we can up and leave at the drop of a hat and settle in a place like CApe Town ........ with some dosh in our pockets .............nothing wrong with that really!

The crime in Cape Town is a lot less than places like Durban & Joburg

Hence I find a lot of the South Africans living in Uk tend to come form those areas rather than Cape Town

I go to Cape Town approx 3-4 times a year and I have never had a problem

The majority of the serious crime (murder/rape) hapens in the townships, so although statistically speaking its horrendous, I would tend to compare Cape Town more to cities like LA - if your're streetwise you stand a decent chance of not becoming a statistic

88CRASH - Well Said!

There are a lot of Brits in Hout Bay, even got a Leeds United football bar!!!

But I suspect the 90% figure could be something like

"90% of all Brits that have bough in Cape Town over last 3 years have bought in Hout Bay"

(can't afford Clifton!)

I wish I could afford Clifton !!!!!

QUOTE(Should you sell @ Feb 1 2005, 03:40 PM)

Raven,

I can't answer for the Aussies in the dodgy bars, however I came over to pay of my student debt (debt in Rand, earn in Pounds makes a lot of sense)

I have stayed longer than I thought I would, basically because I love travelling and earning well like I do and being based in the UK it is ideal to get to anywhere in the world. It also makes sense for me to save hard here for a few years and then if I do ever decide to go back I will never have to worry about a mortgage because the pound stretches so far.

I think most South Africans that are in the UK for longer than 2 years use the same logic as above. Don't get us wrong, we love working in the UK - we lead a great lifestyle with all the traveling we do and we are valued highly in the london job market - winning combination really.

The day we decide we don't like the UK anymore we can up and leave at the drop of a hat and settle in a place like CApe Town ........ with some dosh in our pockets .............nothing wrong with that really!

Nothing at all Should You Sell, I'd do exaclty the same, I just wouldn';t slag the place off whilst living here and earning good money, I'd appreciate what the place is doing for me.
It must just be my experience, but London and the UK get slagged off a lot by the very people that are over here instead of being back home.

I'd love to go to Cape Town, my mate want to go there for his Honeymoon, I'll ask him what it was like.

I too am South African, Durban where I lived, at least 30 car jackings a day as reported by the window replacement company neighbour over the road had his neice in Capetown kidnapped and raped for 8 hrs my next door neighbours husband was shot last year at his car sales place in Durban etc..

I love the Country and no you don't see crime every day happening around you but it is there coupled with "lack of value for life"

Aren't there fairly heavy restrictions about taking assets/money (legally) out of South Africa - isn't that part of the reason for the differntial in pricing? This would be a bit of a red flag to investors.

Raven,

I agree with you 100%, I get quite embaressed sometimes when travelling home through Wimbledon. The average South African is a rather larger than life loudish character who often has one or two to many and then thinks he owns the place ......

I think al ot of the problem is that South Africans often treat their time in the UK as one big holiday (almost like the Brits in Spain) and would never behave as badly as they sometimes do under their mommies and daddies noses back in SA!

If you are a non-resident, you can invest in property in SA and you are free to withdraw your cash + reasonable profit.
For residents, yes there are restrictions and tax implications

I totally agree, I personally would quite happily live there even with the crime,I only moved back here cuase my wife didn't feel comfortable.
I was trying to point out that having to be on your guard 24/7 from crime is the price you pay for the quality of life you can enjoy, its a fine balance for me
But from the Female point of veiw its very dangerous

Yes that sounds like the UK to me but what about SA !

Big difference between the UK and SA (as discussed earlier)

In UK the chances of you being shot in the process of a robbey is highly unlikely

It does happen, but in London there are lots of muggings but death as a result is very rare

in SA life is a bit cheaper, after all its still Africa!

Exactly the same with me, except, I'm a Brit who was thinking of living in Cape Town for 6 months of the year

I could live with the threat of crime, but my wife has the added concern of the rape threat

Woman in South Africa, both white, black and coloured get a bit of a rough deal with regard to sex attacks even in the 'New South Africa'

It seems that the boys weren't told that having forced sex any time you fancy it, is no longer acceptable in 2005!

I lived in Cape Town for 6 months in 1993, so can only comment about how I found it then, which was a great place, and as long as you were streetwise very safe. I feel less safe living in London than I ever did in Cape Town.
Wish I'd have bought there at the time, when property really was cheap!

I lived in Cape Town for 6 months in 1993, so can only comment about how I found it then, which was a great place, and as long as you were streetwise very safe. I feel less safe living in London than I did in Cape Town.
Wish I'd have bought there at the time, when property really was cheap!

Latest from South Africa as predicted.

http://www.property24.co.za/property24/new...?ArticleId=2289

ie: 6-8 months behind the UK