Business Day HomeFront 07 September 2018

HOMEFRONT 13 OCTOBER 2016 WWW.BDLIVE.CO.ZA 7 SEPTEMBER 2018 WWW.BUSINESSLIVE.CO.ZA

MUST READ

Joburg Art Fair: women shine PAGE 2

How to find the right tenant PAGE 4

South African malls stay on trend PAGE 12

At your service

Novice agents need nurturing PAGE 14

The rebirth of the exclusive serviced hotel apartment and a reconfigured corporate apartment model can both deliver market-beating investor returns

PAGE 6

HOMEFRONT ART

The tactile and the tangible Women, especially Africans, speak up about gender inequality and women’s rights at the FNB Joburg Art Fair 2018 WORDS: MELVYN MINNAAR :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

Please be perfect so daddy will want another by Amy Lin

Midnight Aura by Billie Zangewa

B

illie Zangewa’s art has instant rapport with viewers.

Vibrancy of a special kind connects her images to alluring messages, such as bold movie posters once did, setting scenes for romance, drama, or the small mysteries of the everyday.

Once drawn in closer, skilled craft of a particular and purposeful kind explains and confirms her work’s express appeal.

Hers is an age-old craft and it is blatantly tactile in its spatial presence. It can, somewhat uncomfortably, be categorised as tapestries or wall-hangings. Working with cut-off silk fabric, Zangewa uses embroidery and such manner of textile means to build up or collage large pictures. They taunt with their ironic reference to what has been accepted as “a woman’s trade”.

Zangewa is the FNB Joburg Art Fair’s featured artist, meaning she gets

the spotlight. For visitors this is a special treat. And the manner of her art punts a subtle theme that runs though a number of artists’ work: the tactile and the tangible, meaning not a deadly, framed thing hanging on the wall. Ideal for art fairs which require a bold, entertaining presence that pricks the intellect.

A number of other prominent female artists tackle issues that drive the #MeToo meme.

ESTABLISHED Now in its 11th year, the FNB Joburg Art Fair 2018 at the Sandton Convention Centre is punted as the most established and first international art fair on the continent. More than 45 galleries from 14 countries across Africa, Europe and the US take part, including 15 new exhibitors.

Organisers boast that the fair is “an allin-one showcase of fresh perspectives and

sought-after content on contemporary African art” — with particularly strong representation of exhibitors from Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, SA, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Billie Zangewa’s Malawian mother was indeed a woman who skilfully worked with sewing machine and needle.

For the 45-year-old Johannesburg artist and mother of a six-year-old boy, the return to that craft Billie Zangewa, featured artist, was a short journey. After FNB Joburg Art Fair 2018 her art studies and creative endeavours, she now has an international audience for her unique woman’s voice.

On the media and method of her art she explained that while working a fabric is traditionally a female pastime, it is about identity to her. “I’m expressing myself and embracing my Lu mar meyewul matte du ko maye by Mamady Seydi femininity through my

“I’m expressing myself and embracing my femininity through my choice of material”

HOMEFRONT

Messages from the Atlantic Passage by Sue Williamson

“Amy Lin explores the concept of an outsider by creating drawing/sculpture hybrids” choice of material,” Zangewa says. “Sewing is also very therapeutic and as a person who internalises things, I find relief in it.”

Her art is represented in several important collections, including the Tate in the UK, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington DC. Last year she exhibited at the Stedelijk as well as the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. Zangewa’s work is indeed exceptional. Many of her images feature herself, and this too connects with another topic that pervades the upcoming fair: women, especially Africans, are speaking up about gender inequality and women’s rights.

OTHER ARTISTS Zangewa’s work is counterbalanced by other artists, in particular in the gallery solo projects area where David Krut is showing unusual work by the Ethiopian-born Aida Muluneh, Amy Lin (Alida Anderson Projects) and Mamady Seydi (Galerie Galea).

Senegalese Seydi’s art, for example, links strongly to the tactile/tangible dynamic. Works combine metal, raw materials such

City Life by Aida Muluneh PRODUCED BY BLACKSTAR PROPERTY PUBLISHING 1st Floor, Block H, Sable Square, Cnr Bosmansdam and Ratanga roads, Milnerton, Cape Town 021 447 7130

A EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Kim Maxwell Designer: Samantha Durand

as sackcloth and wood. His large installation The one who does not know where he goes must return where he comes from? was shown at Dak’Art Biennale.

Parallel to Zangewa’s methods, Amy Lin explores the concept of an outsider by creating drawing/sculpture hybrids, with drawings obscured by layers of cut paper. Because parts of each drawing are hidden, the viewer has to move around and peer into the openings to see the drawing underneath.

PERCEPTION An established photo-artist, Aida Muluneh is founder of the Addis Foto Fest, the first international photography festival in East Africa. Her vibrant, eye-catching images are part of an ongoing process addressing issues of African perception.

In the company of these adventurous artists — there are many more throughout the various gallery stalls and sections — perhaps the most breathtaking presence is that of a very well known Cape Town activist artist.

Reworking an earlier, most-memorable piece for this year’s fair, 77-yearold Sue Williamson’s Messages from the Atlantic Passage is a large-scale installation that entails the full dynamic presence of

the tactile/tangible: fishing nets suspended from the ceiling are filled with glass bottles containing traces of earth, while water drips continuously down towards tanks on the floor.

Hanging from the nets are more bottles attached to metal chains. Each bottle is hand-engraved with information about a slave: a name, an age, a country of origin. Williamson had made an earlier version in 2004, Messages from the Moat, theatrically installed at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town. The new installation was shown last year at Art Basel.

RECORDS Based on records of the history of slavery from the 16th to 19th centuries, it is a stirring form of memorialisation. Each bottle — a cheap commodity, as slave lives were regarded — represents an individual recorded as on the ships.

The fragility of the bottles suspended above the viewer speaks volumes about the history behind it all. Like the work by Billie Zwangewa, this promises to be a showstopper.

The FNB Joburg Art Fair runs at the Sandton Convention Centre until Sunday, September 9. fnbjoburgartfair.co.za

PUBLICATION ADVERTISING SALES

Managing Editor/Copy Editor: Michael van Olst Production: Joanne le Roux

Michèle Jones Susan Erwee

michele.jones@thecreativegroup.info susan.erwee@thecreativegroup.info

084 246 8105 083 556 9848

HOMEFRONT LETTING

Five steps to securing the right tenant People are feeling the heat as SA’s living costs increase. Smart landlords know how to minimise the risk of a defaulting tenant WORDS: STAFF REPORTER :: PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK

C

onsumers are continuously under more pressure — rent, petrol, food and VAT have risen as incomes struggle to keep pace. So whether letting first-time apartments or luxury rental properties, you have to be that much more careful about finding a reliable tenant as the owner of a rental property.

The January-March 2018 PayProp Rental Index noted an upward trend in both the number of tenants and the amount of rent in arrears.

SECURE Your tenants may be worse off now than when you first secured them. And presuming that is the case, it pays to be sure they are still financially secure.

In tougher markets, a consistently effective way to manage the risk of a nonpaying tenant is to make sure you place (and keep) good, financially

secure tenants with a good rental track record.

Your risk as a landlord in the luxury sector will generally be much higher than in lower rental brackets, although the returns are also bigger.

“Affluent tenants can experience rising debtto-income ratios and affordability problems just as easily as anyone else,” says Chas Everitt International property group CEO Berry Everitt.

STATISTICS Statistics show that only about 7% of tenants in SA rent for more than R15,000 a month, but this percentage is growing — and that about 2% already rent for more than R25,000 a month.

“Our best estimates are that the number of high-end households for landlords to target is around 280,000 and rising,” says Everitt.

“It is of course more costly to acquire luxury rental properties, so landlords

who wish to operate in this sector need to do careful research to establish what type of home affluent tenants prefer, what might make them choose one over another, and what will make them stay.”

Everitt cautions that credit, income and tenant record checks are as important for high-end tenants.

He says the most affluent tenants increasingly favour apartments and penthouses in high-end buildings that offer facilities associated with a luxury hotel. These tenants will readily pay up to R65,000 a month for luxury two-bedroom apartments that offer the right location, facilities and views in areas such as Sandton, Rosebank and Melrose Arch in Johannesburg; the CBD, the V&A Waterfront and De Waterkant in Cape Town and Umhlanga Rocks near Durban. Penthouses with private outdoor terraces or rooftop entertainment

areas fetch even more.

Five steps to securing the right tenant:

previous properties a potential tenant lived in.

1. Vetting

Never commit to anything verbally. Consider all requests and record them in a written and signed lease agreement. Many standard lease templates available online won’t necessarily protect landlords adequately. Agents can draw up a professional lease agreement for a nominal fee — landlords are under no obligation to also hire the agent to manage the property.

It is vital to screen potential tenants, with their permission. A thorough credit check shows if the tenant is employed and if the job is likely to be long term. Most estate agents can conduct checks or landlords can use good creditchecking facilities directly, such as Tenant Profile Network, Rentmaster and LANDLORDS.co.za.

2. Rental history checks The previous landlord’s glowing report of prospective tenants is not a reliable recommendation.

“Landlords may lie to get rid of a tenant by singing their praises,” says Natalie Muller, head of rentals at Jawitz Properties in the Western Cape and Gauteng. Request landlord references from two

“Our best estimates are that the number of high-end households for landlords to target is around 280,000 and rising” Berry Everitt, CEO, Chas Everitt International

3. A signed lease

4. Consider a managing agent “Landlord responsibilities are eased — from avoiding difficult conversations with tenants, to ensuring rental income, to making sure the deposit is in an interestbearing account,” says Muller. A managing agent is on the landlord’s side and will choose a tenant without letting emotions

come into play. “A managing agent will find the best tenant from a solvency perspective,” she says.

5. Ongoing checks Continued vetting of a tenant is important. When a tenant gives permission for a credit check, it means their financial status can be verified at any time in the lease period. Muller says a tenant’s credit profile could change overnight. Data on recorded payments is sent to the credit bureau constantly, so agents can flag if any of a tenant’s other accounts have become problematic or if they have defaulted.

“This makes a decision to renew the lease easier, or helps highlight any issues so that a landlord can prepare,” she says. Consider insurance policies that can protect rental income and provide a buffer for landlords and tenants.

Finally, re-read the fine print before renewing a lease.

HOMEFRONT PROPERTY TREND

At your service The rebirth of the exclusive serviced hotel apartment and a reconfigured corporate apartment model can both deliver market-beating investor returns WORDS: GEORGINA GUEDES :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

The Capital On The Park, Sandton

T

he buy-tolet serviced apartment model is a booming property trend in SA. Fed by the growing demand for hassle-free accommodation by business travellers, commuters and emigrants, developers have identified this market as having above-industryaverage growth potential.

They are incorporating these apartments into existing hotel and mixeduse developments, or creating standalone serviced apartment blocks.

HomeFront looked at some apartment trends to identify how they could benefit investors.

1. Hotel ownerrental apartments

The Capital Mirage, Cape Town

Some newly developed hotels now incorporate a number of apartments that investors can purchase, with guaranteed rental returns for a specific period.

For example, The Capital Mirage Hotel, situated next to the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, offers investors

guaranteed rental income for three years — with the option to extend up to nine.

The apartments are serviced and maintained according to the quality standards of a national four-star hotel group.

“The Capital Mirage becomes the direct tenant of each unit. The Capital Mirage then gives owners guaranteed monthly rental,” says Dogon Group Properties group MD Rob Stefanutto.

“Rental return is as important as capital growth,” says Stefanutto. “Purchasing property within a hotel that guarantees a rental income is a great investment option.”

TRANSFER He explains that the transfer date is also the occupation date, so no rental is lost. The Capital Mirage guarantees a 6% annual escalation.

Stefanutto says prices at The Capital Mirage start at R2.89m for a studio apartment and this provides a rental return of R18,500 a month, subject to the purchase of a furniture package for R150,000.

Superior units sell for R3.79m and offer a rental return of R24,000 a month, subject to the purchase of a furniture package for R180,000, while twobedroom apartments sell from R6.69m and offer a rental return of R37,000 a month, with a furniture package for R320,000.

“Buying to let is a popular strategy for investors who hold property in their portfolios.

“However, it comes with risks should you not find a tenant, or have a tenant that reneges on payment. An option such as that provided

by The Capital Hotel effectively removes the risk of vacancies and subsequent loss of income for the buy-to let-owner,” says Stefanutto.

PORTFOLIO The Capital Hotels and Apartments group has a number of other serviced hotel-style apartments, mostly in Johannesburg.

One is The Capital On The Park. Completed this year, the building is a new addition to the company’s

HOMEFRONT

The Houghton, Johannesburg

portfolio of combined hotel-and-apartment developments. It offers 4,000m2 of conference and hotel facilities, and 21,000m2 of rooms and apartments.

The building is targeting a GBCSA four-star rating, and joins other similar developments by the Capital Hotel and Apartments in Sandton as well as Menlyn Maine in Pretoria and Umhlanga in KwaZulu-Natal.

They have also recently broken ground and begun construction on The Capital Melrose, close to Melrose Arch and the M1 highway.

“It is at the heart of one of the city’s most energetic and exciting locations, within walking distance of exceptional shopping and restaurants, and a short drive from the Sandton CBD,” says The Capital Hotels and Apartments MD Marc Wachsberger.

When phase five of The Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg is completed in early 2019, it will include 10 fully serviced hotel investor suites, which will offer guests access to the hotel’s business lounges, slow lounge, spa, salon, private gym and sky bar.

SERVICES

One on Whiteley, Birnam, Johannesburg

“The Houghton will become a destination as it offers a luxury home from home with all the top businesses services, and opportunities to relax at the gym or spa, or enjoy a quick nine holes,” says Wesley Grobler, investment officer at The Houghton Hotel.

“The length of stays are dependent on the

requirements of the client.

We are confident that our service offering and product quality will produce excessive demand.”

He says there has been great market interest from private companies, investors and top management, who want hassle-free lifestyle options with on-tap services.

“More and more investors are comforted by the increasing appeal and notion of knowing their investments will be fully supported with five-star services and amenities.”

Many developers are considering the hotel apartments model, including Amdec, which is completing the One on Whiteley mixed-use building in Melrose Arch. The new building will incorporate a hotel and will offer serviced hotel apartments for sale to investors.

2. Apartment investment fund With the rising popularity of home-stay options for the business traveller (Airbnb and the like), investors are taking a second look at how they allocate property in their portfolios.

AlphaWealth fund Saresco is broadening its booming serviced apartments portfolio because of corporate demand.

“The assets are new-build properties underpinned by their exclusive desirability, key locations and access to public transport systems,” says AlphaWealth CEO Anton Gillis. “People want land exposure in their portfolio, but they don’t

want the headache of managing or developing it.

They want to buy into an investment,” says Gillis.

Saresco is a small, 100% privately owned, nonlisted fund. “Investors buy in for a 10-year period and we don’t guarantee monthly rentals so that we can respond to the market’s needs,” says Gillis.

LUXURY The fund has invested in The Residency luxury serviced apartments, which have operated in Gauteng for the past two years. All hotel services, other than room service, are offered.

But the management team will stock the fridge for a guest on arrival.

“The premise behind our fund is that we look for longterm capital appreciation, build in great locations — not necessarily the cheapest — and overspend on furniture and fittings to show value for the guest.

“We’ve taken the view of long-term appreciation rather than chasing nightly revenue.”

Their guests include local business travellers who either keep personal belongings in the apartment and pay a rental, or leave their belongings at reception and pay only for the nights they are in town. Other guests require a base between countries.

“Foreign nationals are also used to the serviced apartment model and prefer it to a traditional hotel.”

The Residency apartments are in Rosebank’s Jellicoe Avenue, Sandhurst, Hurlingham and Sandton.

The Residency Hurlingham, Sandton

“Rental return is as important as capital growth” Rob Stefanutto, group MD, Dogon Group Properties

The Residency Rosebank, Johannesburg

HOMEFRONT

The Capital Menlyn Maine, Pretoria

The Residency Sandhurst, Sandton “The buildings are running at above 70% year-to-date occupancy,” Gillis says.

3. Reconfigured executive apartments As many corporates tighten their budgets, the cost of booking hotels for long- and short-term stays has come under increasing scrutiny.

Corporate guests require consistency, security and leasing flexibility.

The business traveller is also a demanding guest, with standards of luxury and technology that few home-stay providers can guarantee.

Managed by AlphaWealth, The Residency’s executive serviced apartments appeal to corporate clients — as an alternative to a hotel — because the specs have been reconfigured.

“A typical hotel room, contracted on a corporate rate, is known to be a small standard room.

Nexus 83, Pretoria

We offer a room that is double the size, with a lounge and kitchenette for the equivalent price,” says Gillis.

“The Residency doesn’t work according to a nightly yield, as with Airbnb and hotels — it is focused more on long-term gains through long-term contracts and is consequently able to undercut the market in terms of rates.”

BENEFITS Other benefits are overheads lower than hotels of executive calibre, while providing guests a larger, more exclusive luxury living environment.

Gillis predicts that this form of accommodation will continue to see increased growth within the next few years.

The serviced apartment market sees healthy demand in Pretoria from corporates and individuals, or investors looking to

cash in on alternative rental opportunities. After the success of Junction Faircity Apartments, completed in March 2017, Hearth Developments have launched phase 2, Nexus 83.

It is scheduled for completion in February 2019, with 36 luxury apartments in Menlo Park.

The Faircity Hotel group handles the marketing, management and operations on behalf of the owners.

“Nexus 83 offers an exclusive opportunity for the discerning investor to buy into the 36 upmarket one-bedroom, onebathroom furnished apartments, which are accessibly priced from R1.161m to R1.462m,” says Retha Schutte, Pretoria regional executive for Pam Golding Properties.

“Affordable daily rates are priced at about R1,000 a night, and negotiable for long-term stays of more than seven days.”

“People want land exposure in their portfolio, but they don’t want the headache of managing or developing it” Anton Gillis, CEO, AlphaWealth

AFRICAN TREND FOR MIXED-USE HOTEL PRECINCTS The mixed-use residential precinct trend that incorporates hotels has taken off across Africa in recent years, and shows little sign of slowing down.

“We have definitely seen huge success across the continent when mixed-use developments incorporate hotel components,” says Tim Smith, managing partner at hospitality consulting and services group HVS Africa. “It gives hotel guests the level of urban comfort they demand, while allowing developers to spread their financial risk.”

Smith lists Loftus Park and Menlyn Maine in Pretoria, Century City and the V&A Waterfront, with 11 hotels, as prime examples of this model’s success.

“There are also similar projects in Nairobi, Accra, Lagos, Dar es Salaam and Maputo, where big developers and hotel operators are capitalising on benefits offered by mixed-use developments,” he says. “A mixed-use development has a better return on investment in areas in Africa with more underdeveloped hospitality facilities.”

Amdec is synonymous with mixed-use urban developments in SA such as Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. Under development in Cape Town is The Yacht Club and Harbour Arch. “Most purchasers within this type of development are investors who are buying to let,” says Amdec Group sales consultant Tersia Taljaard. “Some investors have bought as many as 10 apartments in a single development, and buyers even form consortiums to buy together.”

w 0 o n 00 g n 519 i l l Se R1 m o r f

Phase one SOLD OUT !!!

NEW DEVELOPMENT!!

Tweespruit Estate - Stellenbosch!!

Tweespruit offers a choice between 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom house plans AREA CALCULATIONS

AREA CALCULATIONS

AREA CALCULATIONS

AREA CALCULATIONS

AREA CALCULATIONS

GROUND FLOOR

60m2

GROUND FLOOR

93 m2

GROUND FLOOR

110 m2

GROUND FLOOR

109m2

GROUND FLOOR

Ground Floor Area

38 m2

Ground Floor Area

71 m2

Ground Floor Area

85 m2

Ground Floor Area

71 m2

Ground Floor Area

Garage Area

18 m2

Garage Area

19 m2

Garage Area

18 m2

Garage Area

19 m2

Garage Area

Covered Stoeps

19m2

Covered Stoeps

Covered Stoep

4 m2

FIRST FLOOR

43 m2

TOTAL AREA

103 m2

Covered Stoep

TOTAL AREA

3 m2

Covered Stoep

93 m2

TOTAL AREA

7 m2

110 m2

TOTAL AREA

109 m2

TOTAL AREA

UNIT TYPE 2

UNIT TYPE 3

UNIT TYPE 4

UNIT TYPE 5

UNIT TYPE 6

Artist’s impression only. All plans, elevations and areas are subject to final adjustments by architect and municipal/building regulations. For full disclaimer please see pg. 14

Artist’s impression only. All plans, elevations and areas are subject to final adjustments by architect and municipal/building regulations. For full disclaimer please see pg. 14

Artist’s impression only. All plans, elevations and areas are subject to final adjustments by architect and municipal/building regulations. For full disclaimer please see pg. 14

Artist’s impression only. All plans, elevations and areas are subject to final adjustments by architect and municipal/building regulations. For full disclaimer please see pg. 14

Artist’s impression only. All plans, elevations and areas are subject to final adjustments by architect and municipal/building regulations. For full disclaimer please see pg. 14

121 m2 85 m2 19 m2 17 m2

121 m2

- Tweespruit is a new up-market security village situated in the Stellenbosch winelands, consisting of 71 Free Standing 2 and 3 bedroom homes.

- Each house has two bathrooms, a lock-up garage and beautiful modern internal finishings.

The village also features state of the art security.

• Quick access to Stellenbosch University and other business districts (eg. Cape Town CBD, Northern Suburbs and Boland).

• Panoramic views of Simonsberg and Helderberg Mountains.

• Tweespruit offers residents a secure environment with 24hour manned security and 2.1m high perimeter walls with electric fencing.

• Each house has its own fully enclosed private lawned garden with a meranti side gate.

• All houses have direct access to landscaped

•

• • • • •

communal open spaces.

Every house comes standard with a single automated garage with ample space for a second vehicle to park at the front.

Aluminium windows frames ensures low maintenance cost.

5 floor plans to choose from – all include 2 bathrooms.

Granite tops in kitchen and built-in cupboards in bedrooms.

High tenant demand and capital growth area.

7 Km from the Stellenbosch University

Levies: +- R1482 per month • Different types available with prices.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT THE ONLY PRICE - PRICE DIFFER • SIZE AND HOUSE DIFFER AS WELL Well secured excellent for student accomodation / use as rental to generate extra rental income.

Loraine Louws 076 143 4981 • loraine@nspropertysolutions.co.za www.nspropertysolutions.co.za

YOUR PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PARTNER

HOMEFRONT RETAIL BAROMETER

Malls keep pace with change How South African retailers are reacting to evolving consumer needs and growing global competition WORDS: STAFF REPORTER :: PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK

T

he good news.

SA is subSaharan Africa’s most saturated retail market, representing 88% of available space in the region.

And SA’s retail sector, which ranks sixth in the world for shopping centre space, is among the top performers worldwide.

In the decade ending in December 2017 the South African retail sector delivered the highest annualised return among 43 national markets measured worldwide, according to a study released by the SA Council of Shopping Centres in July.

An important takeout of the research shows that local retail centres under development are much larger than in previous

decades and much of this retail space is in larger metropoles, competing with existing centres. How is South African retail shaping up internationally? And are top shopping centres innovating to compete for market share?

“SA remains a solid and preferred point of retail entry for speciality, luxury and global brands,” says Jonathan Sinden, chief operations officer of Liberty Two Degrees, which operates Gauteng super-regional malls Sandton City and Eastgate Shopping Centre.

The two malls are in tune with international trends, says Sinden, especially in areas such as convenience, variety and overall shopping experience. “The increasing middle class enables

South African retailers to expand target markets and locations, while still increasing sales numbers.”

These are the current retail trends:

1. Family first While malls in SA are still preferred for clothing and general merchandise, there is a shift in consumer preference towards a more family-oriented experience.

Sandton City’s Fun District includes Hamley’s World toy store and a refurbished movie complex, which includes a children’s cinema.

“Astute property owners are revamping their centres to enhance customer experience,” says Sinden.

2. High standards V&A Waterfront retail executive Alex Kabalin says SA still follows trends from Europe and the US. “The influx of international brands such as H&M and Cotton On has forced local retailers to up the level of their offering and their way of doing business.”

Retailers now have to compete with rapid fashion turnaround times for getting trends off the ramps and on to the racks, says Kabalin.

The diverse mix of stores, experiences and facilities in Sandton City’s luxury goods venue Diamond Walk is another example of retail innovation. “The pop-up stores we often host also provide consumers with access to niche and unique products and services,” Sinden says.

3. Unique technology positions “Some South African retailers are leaders in specific areas, such as mobile payments and early adoption of technology such as QR codes,” says Kabalin.

Yet as international malls have suffered from the growth in e-commerce, Sinden says

HOMEFRONT

“Astute property owners are revamping their centres to enhance customer experience” Jonathan Sinden, chief operations officer, Liberty Two Degrees

the low penetration of online shopping in SA has helped shield the retail sector. Total online sales account for just above 1% of all local retail sales, according to Kabalin, but the e-commerce concept is gaining traction.

Fortress Reit retail executive director Vuso Majija says the growth trajectory of digital retail will be slower in SA due to logistical and unique spatial challenges of South African cities, a legacy of the country’s divided past.

4. Added value “Shopping centres are beginning to realise that the online revolution will come. They are having to focus on leisure and other attractions to entice shoppers to their centres and increase the time they spend there,” says Kabalin.

Faced by greater competition for market share as lettable space in the South African retail sector mushrooms, many centres have been upgraded and modernised in an attempt to provide more area to carry bigger ranges, provide space for new retail entrants and to better compete with other centres.

5. Township growth Vukile Property Fund asset management director Itumeleng Mothibeli says retail sales are under duress, but this is not uniform across retail types with rural and township sectors showing decent growth in the past year.

Majija agrees. “The rapidly developing township market, which is seeing more malls being opened, is a definite growth opportunity,” he says.

Mothibeli says that on the other hand, urban retail centres are under pressure,

with a decline in trading densities, heightening rent to sales due to saturation in the market and noticeable changes in shopper patterns and behaviours.

The township retail market is coming into its own, says Lemok Group founder and CEO Lebogang Mokubela. “At 65,000m 2, the R650m Maponya Mall in Soweto is one of the largest retail hubs in SA. Previously, you wouldn’t find high-end stores such as Woolworths in the township. However, we are seeing a bigger demand for such stores.

“The township market is also diverse — you can have someone who earns R1,000 a month all the way to guy who spends R1,000 on a bottle of Champagne,” Mokubela says.

Retail should hold firm in the rural and township market, especially for malls that have a superior tenant mix. “The cookiecutter approach of a similar mall tenant mix is slowly coming to a much-needed end,” says Mothibeli.

6. Shopper convenience Liberty Two Degrees tries to stay ahead of retail and consumer trends and to understand changing customer behaviour and requirements. Sinden says it has implemented technologies such as free and fast Wi-Fi connectivity and the use of data analytics.

This includes a system that comprehensively captures footfall data to enable specific and targeted interventions to better serve customers.

“Data procured from these technologies is accurate and allows for continued strategic

planning from an asset management perspective.

Shopper insights are used to improve leasing and marketing strategies and augment shopper experience,” says Sinden.

The V&A’s Kabalin says malls constantly look for ways to make visiting a mall easier and frictionless. One example is the rise in ticketless parking and the use of cellphone parking apps.

7. Into Africa In the wider African context, untapped opportunities beckon.

Massmart, a retailer already very active on the continent, is aiming for a 35% growth in store footprint over the next three years.

“We have always been of the view that we would take a measured approach.

Our expansion into a new country is based on the market potential and our ability to succeed,” says Massmart Africa originator Adriaan Otto.

“In most of our African operations almost 95% of our management and employees are local and the vast majority of our fresh produce is locally sourced.”

Overall, the outlook for retail is good if there is an agile response to circumstances. “Shopping centres have a robust future provided they evolve,” says Sinden.

Malls that do not meet the changing needs of consumers — shoppers and tenants — will not be able to compete with those that do. “It is increasingly important to understand that it is not just about being the ‘biggest mall’, but rather about offering the best experience.”

HOMEFRONT PROPERTY NEWS

Next generation of estate agents under threat

“T

he potential that land holds to unlock the future of the individuals who own it — whether outright or as form of bonded security — is perhaps the only aspect all parties can agree on in the debate on land expropriation.”

Real Estate Business Owners of South Africa (Rebosa) CEO Jan le Roux says the estate agency industry, under pressure to develop more black agents, must now face this “new, seemingly overwhelming obstacle” to their livelihoods after the ANC’s recent decision to formally propose an amendment to the Constitution.

But there is a more imminent legislative threat to the industry, which employs more than 50,000 estate agents in SA (excluding administration and support staff). Le Roux

says Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment as president brought renewed economic confidence and room for meaningful growth in this sector, particularly in creating new jobs for prospective black estate agents.

“But this is unlikely to happen now,” says Le Roux.

“Compounding potential expropriation and the pre-existing squeeze the industry already faces, the Property Practitioners’ Bill that is currently under consideration by the Human Settlements Committee in Parliament is likely to quash any remaining hope of this realisation.”

He says the current Estate Agency Affairs Board is responsible for maintaining standards in the regulation of the business of estate agents and issuing Fidelity Fund certificates required to carry out their activities.

“But this is a flailing organisation that has not reached any of its transformation targets and has been unable to stop thousands of individuals passing themselves off as estate agents.

“While some industrious and well-intentioned staffers certainly do good work, the EAAB is an overresourced, grossly underperforming organisation in need of an overhaul.”

To address job creation, Rebosa calls for focused and decisive delivery on transformation endeavours, support for existing structures and industry efforts in place to realise promises made. Replacing the board — as the recommendation in the bill states — with a new, more costly body is no guarantee of a better outcome for the industry or consumers.

Le Roux says prudent management is critical if the industry is to achieve its transformation targets and sustainably transform.

It costs about R100,000 to train and equip a young black intern to confidently run his or her own practice.

“Based on conservative estimates, a refocused industry body could save a potential R40mR50m annually.

“It could spend this on programmes aimed at developing employment opportunities to translate into an additional 500 qualified young black estate agents a year.”

Le Roux says estate agencies across the country, large and small, are eager to invest in growing the next generation of estate agents, but require the confidence of an enabling environment for transformative endeavours to be cultivated.

Lifestyle retirement property hits high note

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Storage space expands to Bryanston

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SE-listed company Stor-Age has opened a new facility in Bryanston. The storage company’s trading portfolio has increased to more than 50 stores in SA. The addition of the 6,100m² store takes Stor-Age’s Gauteng gross letting area to more than 126,500m².

The new facility, close to Nicolway Shopping Centre, has 610 units of varying sizes.

The development of the Bryanston facility is in line with Stor-Age’s goal to grow services in suburbs that host established retail, residential and business spaces.

It expands the company’s portfolio in Gauteng to more than 20 stores, says StorAge CEO Gavin Lucas.

“We aim to meet the needs of the SME, household, business and student sectors,” Lucas says.

“The development extends our service

to Bryanston and neighbouring River Club, Morningside and the broader Sandton area.”

Stor-Age offers quality facilities, easy-access parking, 24-hour security, access controlled entry and individually alarmed and insured units, says Lucas.

He says numerous developments in the pipeline are about to add to Stor-Age’s portfolio of 63 properties across SA and the UK.

ore South Africans are investing in retirement lifestyle developments and enjoying returns of up to 20% a year.

“Many people take the opportunity to invest in properties well ahead of retirement age, letting the units and paying off their bonds until they are ready to retire and use the properties themselves,” says Charl van Niekerk, Central Developments marketing manager for Celebration Retirement Estate.

It is located off Malibongwe Drive opposite Northgate Shopping Centre in Johannesburg.

“Most retirement lifestyle developments allow

residency from the age of 50. It gives people an opportunity to plan for their retirement. They can buy at today’s prices, while getting excellent capital growth of up to 12% and rental returns of up to 8%,” says Van Niekerk.

Celebration Retirement Estate is Central Developments’ 12th retirement lifestyle development. Units range from onebedroom apartments to luxury three-bedroom townhouses in a security estate with a restaurant and dining room, coffee shop, fibre internet connectivity, medical suites, hair and beauty

salon, laundry services, indoor heated pool, a convenience store, library, games room, outdoor green belt and a social club.

Apartments are from R820,000, simplex cottages from R1.8m and free-standing houses from R1.87m. Monthly rentals for units are from R6,800 for apartments, R10,500 for simplex cottages and R11,000 for free-standing houses.

“Residents can move to a smaller apartment and access home-based care, or move into frail care for 24-hour care if required — all within the same development,” says Van Niekerk.

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Available daily for viewings WARREN BECKER 082 302 3004 | warren@thehoughton.com ASHLEIGH SMITH 073 220 7357 | ashleigh@thehoughton.com Houghton on 12th, 53 Second Ave, Houghton | Show apartment 8555