Silver surfers ride Cape property wave, while the city of gold gets younger

INCREASING NUMBERS of South Africa’s over- 65s are snapping up luxury and super-luxury properties in the Western Cape.

Last year more than 70% of property sales were made to people older than 65, acccording to the latest research by Lightstone, who have been tracking the trend for the past 12 years.

In 2005 a total of 22% of residential properties sold in the province were purchased by people over 65. This increased to 35% in 2016.

Lightstone’s age analysis data showed that from a property valuation perspective, sales to the province’s 18 to 25-year-old’s took place in the mid-value and high-value segments. The combined price range for these two segments is R250 000 to R1.5 million.

Sales in the super-luxury segment were proportionally fairly evenly distributed across the age bands for people aged 35 and older. The proportion of super-luxury homes purchased by buyers aged between 35 and 45 was pretty much the same as the proportion in the higher age bands, namely 45-55, 55-65 and 65+. Where the differentiator came in was when Lightstone looked at coastal versus non-coastal properties.

The proportion of properties by the coast purchased in 2016 increased through the age bands right up to the 55-65 age bracket, then dropped off sig- nificantly. It appears that people in the Cape buy property at the coast while they are working and retire inland to an estate where less maintenance is needed. At the other end of the scale, a disproportionately large chunk of 18 to 25-year-olds bought property in Gauteng last year. Lightstone said this could be because most job opportunities – and money – were in Gauteng.

“It’s still possible to get a decent starter home in a major Gauteng metro for under R1m. This results in more and more youngsters buying in areas like Delmore Park in Boksburg, Protea Gardens in Soweto and Durley in Bronkhorstspruit.”