Business Day HomeFront 09 February 2018

HOMEFRONT 13 OCTOBER 2016 WWW.BDLIVE.CO.ZA 9 FEBRUARY 2018 WWW.BUSINESSLIVE.CO.ZA

MUST READ

Don't miss Cape Town's art fair PAGE 2

Joburg v Mother City demand PAGE 8

Why Grenada stacks up PAGE 12

117 On Strand, Ingenuity Property Investments Limited

Downtown on the up

Waterwise retirement plans

Lifestyle, avoiding traffic snarls and convenience lead to growing demand for inner-city living, a local survey finds

PAGE 14

PHOTO: ISTOCK

PAGE 6

Looking for the best option?

Whether you’re downsizing, buying to let or weighing up potential returns from student accommodation or retirement, find your ideal development or investment opportunity in the March 9 Property Investment Special Focus issue

Property Investment Special Focus

HOMEFRONT ART

Feminine energy Cape Town art fair’s in-show event Solo challenges and teases

WORDS: MELVYN MINNAAR :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

A

gentle irony underlies the title of a new section at this year’s Investec Cape Town Art Fair at the CTICC. Maybe there is even a touch of humour to the theme curator Nontobeko Ntombela chose for her anticipated groupshow-within-a-show.

Of course a heading such as Solo suggests all kinds of things, including giving an individual performer a shot at the limelight. And so it shall be for the 10 women selected by this sussed curator.

She’s invited them to show new and dynamic art from their studios and workplaces, offering a view of their personal worlds.

FEMINIST RING But there is also a soft feminist ring to the title — especially after a closer look at the materials they use and what they do and say with them.

Think of the clichéd

“woman’s world” idea and images of soap, soft fabric, pots and pans, dresses and make-up are conjured up. Step out of that idea, and all those material things become jolted out of traditional context to become instruments of “solo” interpretations by women about themselves.

And, as Ntombela says, the concept of what it means as a female artist to have this extended self through art.

EXCITING Her Solo line-up is exciting, showcasing new, young and vibrant artists, both locally and from elsewhere in Africa and as far away as India.

In its sixth iteration this year, the fair is, of course, mostly an event for art galleries and dealers to entice old and new collectors to acquire what they don’t yet have.

But Solo — one of a number of separately construed exhibitions within the whole — won’t necessarily make

collectors’ lives and decisions easy. This is not laid-back art, but the kind to challenge and tease.

Yet some of the work is extremely beautiful.

Take the eye-catching photographs of the Luandabased artist known as Keyezua. In a series named Fortia, a mysterious figure in an elaborate, theatrical blood-red dress performs gentle gestures against a bare, desert-like, sandwashed landscape.

Sometimes with masks, sometimes with body movement, she mesmerises the viewer with the incongruity of the setting. Beauty and ambiguity.

The 30-year-old graduate of the Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague is a rising international star with a distinctly African voice. For her, it is simple.

“I am Keyezua,” she says, “a storyteller using art as a communication tool that manages to tell more than my words will ever do.”

Keyezua — Fortia (Desert)

“The chosen pieces are all about upsetting norms and the images of women” Nontobeko Ntombela, Solo theme creator, Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Lhola Amir ­— Sinking: Xa Sinqamla Unxubo

Lucinda Mudge — Baby I live for Danger

HOMEFRONT

Kimathi Mafafo — Solitude

Maïmouna Guerresi — African Sounding Tables

Narratives of performances caught in brilliant photographs and dynamic videos also drive the art by two local young women.

Buhlebezwe Siwani was raised in Johannesburg, but received her Master of Fine Arts from Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Arts in 2015.

PRESENCE

Stacey Gillian Abe — Seat of Honour 5

She was one of the pilots of the activist female group iQhiya that burst on the scene in 2016. An initiated sangoma, her art has a piercing spiritual presence.

Gugulethu-born Lhola Amira’s presence is one of a large, unmissable personality in unusual social situations. She uses video and photography in which she is often the vivid flaneuse from Africa in a foreign landscape. It makes for compelling art, which she names Appearance.

A new work by Amira

“Gugulethuborn Lhola Amir’s presence is one of a large, unmissable personality in unusual social situations”

CONNECTION The wider African connection extends to Maïmouna Guerresi, who is from Senegal, but works in Italy, Botswanan Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum and Ugandan Stacey Gillian Abe. The 45-year-old Mumbai-born Parul Thacker is well known

for working in various materials and techniques of weaving, dyeing and printing. Her art upends the “homely” tradition of “female craft”.

Each of these artists brings something unique that somehow ties nimbly within the context. “The artists we are working with have explored diverse ways,” says Ntombela. “The chosen pieces are all about upsetting norms and the images of women.”

Ntombela herself has played an active role in the art world, often “exploring the notion of feminine energy and the creation of alternative identities for women within current patriarchal systems”.

Solo is one of the special “in-show” events.

Other group shows are Tomorrows/Today and Past Modern.

The Investec Cape Town Art Fair runs from February 16 to 18.

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Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum — Quadra 04

Parul Thacker — Labyrinth PRODUCED BY BLACKSTAR PROPERTY PUBLISHING Unit G4, Old Castle Brewery, 6 Beach Road, Woodstock, 7925 021 447 7130

will debut at this year’s fair. Sinking: Xa Sinqamla Unxubo comprises a film and a number of photographic images.

One large print is provided with context by smaller ones in a single artwork, Narrative.

Other South African artists in Solo are Lucinda Mudge, an accomplished, if wayward, ceramic artist, Kimathi Mafafo, who works expressively in paint and embroidery, and Ingrid Bolton, whose ecoawareness installations have drawn attention.

A EDITORIAL TEAM Editor: Kim Maxwell Designer: Samantha Durand

PUBLICATION

Managing Editor/Copy Editor: Michael van Olst Production: Joanne Le Roux Content Business Manager: Catherine Davis

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HOMEFRONT URBAN TREND

Downtown on the up Lifestyle, avoiding traffic snarls and convenience lead to growing demand for inner-city living, a local survey finds WORDS: GEORGINA GUEDES :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED AND CCID

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ape Town’s city centre is seeing an increase in long-term residents. It appears that those who come — to be close to work and avoid the traffic — stay for the downtown lifestyle.

Every year, the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) conducts a dipstick survey of residents living in the CBD and its immediate surrounds. Most significant among the findings of the 2017 survey, published annually in the CCID’s investment guide, The State of Cape Town Central City Report, is that residents are now spending longer periods living in the CCID. “What is clearly evident is that people are now staying in their apartments for a number of years — well beyond three years and upwards,” says Carola Koblitz, the CCID’s communications manager and investment guide editor. “There has been a huge jump in particular in the number of people who now say they have been living in the Central City

for more than 10 years.

“In 2014, for example, only 15% of respondents indicated they had been living in the CBD for more than 10 years.

“In the latest 2017 survey, this now sits at 32% — more than double.”

COMMUNITY She says this shows that a solid neighbourhood community of loyal residents is forming downtown. They mostly live in buildings that were once office blocks, as before the mid-2000s there were few residential units in the Central City.

While the exact number of residents remains unknown until the next official census, it is estimated that the area has about 3,800 residential units in its footprint.

“This means that, conservatively, it has the potential for a residential community of about 7,000,” says Koblitz.

Millennials (between 24 and 34 years old) made up the largest group of respondents (27%), but the number of respondents of 55 and older has increased from 13% in 2016 to 20% in 2017.

CLOSE TO WORK

The Halyard, by FWJK, formerly the KPMG building

16 On Bree, by FWJK

Zero2One tower, Strand Street, by FWJK

Koblitz says this correlates with the survey result that shows 68% of respondents choose to live in the CBD to be closer to work, compared with 58% in 2016.

“In my opinion, it probably has quite a bit to do with empty-nesters still of working age who find themselves in big empty homes in the suburbs and who realise that — with the kids gone — they can now opt for a more convenient albeit also more compact lifestyle,” says Koblitz.

The second reason for living in the CBD — similar to the first — is that people want to live in a prime business location (40%), and the third is that they want quick access to other neighbourhoods (35%). Also listed was the desire for a “downtown” lifestyle, proximity to great restaurants and good public transport options.

HOMEFRONT

The Wellington loft apartment in Longmarket Street A large slice (40%) of respondents refer to themselves as a “local” (from Cape Town) as opposed to coming from elsewhere in the Western Cape, SA or abroad.

Creative and knowledge industry professions continue to rule in 2017 among CBD residents, with those involved in media, marketing and communications leading (15% of respondents), followed by creative industries involving film, fashion, animation, arts and entertainment (10%).

Architects and engineers, and those involved in ICT are jointly third (7% each). Those in the food and beverage industry, and property, come in at fourth (6% each).

Signatura, which develops luxury Cape Town apartments, has been active in the CCID. It has developed and completed the renovation of the old

"There has been a huge jump in particular in the number of people who now say they have been living in the Central City for more than 10 years" Carola Koblitz, Cape Town Central City Improvement District

Triangle House on Riebeek Street between Long and Loop streets into what is now known as the Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, incorporating an 11-storey hotel complex and 169 residential units over the remaining 12 floors, which are operated on a sectional title basis.

OFFICE CONVERSION Signatura is in the construction phase of a 219-unit development transforming the old Nedbank office complex on the Foreshore into The Onyx, which will combine hotel-type amenities in a residential scheme.

“We are seeing a diverse client base with a majority being investors, but many buy-to-live clients as well,” says Signatura MD David Cohen.

The buy-to-live clients are either purchasing because they work in the city or potentially downscaling

The Onyx, by Signatura from a larger home and want the convenience and walkability of a downtown pad, says Cohen.

While many people prefer to live downtown, they want modern buildings.

“The larger buildings of the lower CBD/Foreshore area allow our projects to have scale, which is appealing for many purchasers,” says Cohen.

“Many people like the fact that the CBD offers a suite of services such as top-notch medical care, minimal commute times — a massive point for many people — as well as the best restaurants and nightlife.”

FWJK is also active within the CCID and has four projects either under construction, about to start or in the planning process.

These are The Halyard, a R500m 25-storey office development with 20 residential apartments on its top three floors, on the corner of Christiaan Barnard Street and Martin Hammerschlag Way. Zero2One Tower is a R2.3bn residential and retail development on the intersection of Adderley and Strand streets.

There is a R1.3bn residential and retail development named 16 on Bree, while The Vogue is a R2bn mixed-use office/ residential and retail development bordering on to 16 on Bree.

BREE STREET

Apartment in the Radisson Blu Hotel & Residence, by Signatura

There has been keen interest in the 16 on Bree development, which when completed in 2020 will be Cape Town’s tallest residential building.

The 36-storey development is ideally positioned on trendy Bree Street. “Buyers are looking for urban living with secure parking and convenient access to the best this city has to offer,” says Laurie Wener, Pam Golding Properties senior executive for developments in the Cape.

“The 16 on Bree development places residents in the heart of hip Bree Street, with its art galleries, antique shops,

artisan restaurants and contemporary bars.”

The 117 on Strand development, already under construction, is sold out with only eight apartments remaining. The block also has premiumgrade office space and 500 parking bays. These luxury apartments start at R2.25m VAT inclusive and include access to a VirginActive gym and specialist retail stores.

SAFETY FWJK director Craig Armstrong says the city centre is well run by the CCID and is deemed to be a safe environment for residential accommodation. “Some buyers also attribute traffic issues and long delays as a reason for wanting to move to the city centre.”

He says the CCID offers residents “a well-run city centre with an emphasis on safety, security and cleanliness”. The CCID has emphasised the creation of this kind of a liveable downtown space, and as statistics and developers’ opinions bear out, it is clearly working — people are flocking to the CCID, and sticking around once they get there.

“Clearly,” says Koblitz, “Cape Town is experiencing the global movement of people wanting to return to traditional downtowns and a great deal has to do with the time and money they spend each day trying to get to and from work.”

HOMEFRONT COMPARISON

Downtown Johannesburg v Cape Town How are sales and rental demand shaping up?

WORDS: GEORGINA GUEDES :: PHOTOS: SEEFF PROPERTIES AND PAM GOLDING PROPERTIES

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he Johannesburg CBD is on the rebound after many businesses moved their headquarters out of the centre of town and into Johannesburg’s newer business districts in Sandton and Rosebank.

Notable exceptions were the banks, mining houses and government departments, which employ significant numbers — people who are now interested in living in the area as its fortunes are beginning to turn.

According to Pam Golding Properties, Johannesburg CBD apartment prices range from R370,000 to R3.99m for penthouse apartments. In some prime buildings such as The Franklin in Pritchard Street, one-bedroom units are priced from between R900,000 and R1.995m compared with R665,000 to R750,000 for twobedroom units in more ordinary buildings.

APARTMENTS Seeff Properties markets apartments in the Johannesburg CBD in six

existing developments on Marshall and Anderson streets, including Dogon Ashanti, Isibaya House and Mapungubwe Hotel Apartments. In these buildings, 40m 2 bachelors start at about R400,000, while two-bedroom apartments (about 90m 2) range from R800,000 to R1.4m — with R850,000 being the average.

“They are interesting as they offer CBD living in very secure apartments.

They are close to the banks, which make up most of the tenants,” says Johannesburg CBD Seeff licensee Byron Cornish.

CLEAN-UP There has been a push to clean up portions of the Johannesburg CBD, mostly around Main Street where the mining houses are, says Cornish. “The street is one of the most beautiful in town, with coffee shops, walkways for pedestrians and great security.”

Cornish says there is a 50/50 split between buyers who want to live in the CBD and those looking to let out their apartments

Dogon Ashanti's Ashanti building, Johannesburg CBD

for a good yield. “Most investors are getting yields of about 9% and upwards for good opportunities in the CBD. "The other 50% of owner/buyers are young professionals who work in the area. The average tenant stays for four years before moving on.”

CITY VIBE Brian Goso, property consultant for Pam Golding Properties Johannesburg Central, says most residents are young professionals who work in the area and love the city vibe.

“There are also investors interested in the architectural history of the city and its buildings as well as expatriates working in the area who enjoy city living and its convenience.”

In Cape Town, however, Pam Golding Properties research analyst Sandra Gordon says there is growing evidence of home owners opting to downsize — as apartment living allows an almost maintenance-free lifestyle, while offering security and convenience.

“The latest Pam Golding

Properties Estate Agent Survey reveals that the most common reason for selling during the final quarter of 2017 was the desire to downsize — not because of financial pressures, but rather changes in family structure,” she says.

Unlike Cape Town, the Johannesburg CBD does not offer residents much in the way of nightlife.

Nearby Braamfontein has restaurants and clubs, but these are not leading eat-out destinations.

THRIVING HUBS Yet Goso says inner-city rejuvenation projects have seen thriving hubs such as the Maboneng Precinct make downtown Johannesburg an appealing place to call home. He says many residents who move still keep their apartments as an investment.

Transport route accessibility is another factor in the Johannesburg CBD’s favour. “You can connect to any direction in no time if you work out of the city. It is easily accessible as other residents

The Franklin, Pritchard Street, Marshalltown

use the Gautrain to Sandton, Rosebank and Pretoria,” says Goso.

MAINTENANCE Avoiding congestion is more than just a perk of Cape Town CBD living.

“Rising utility and transport costs makes lock-up-andgo apartments attractive, especially to younger or first-time buyers who don’t want to spend extra on home maintenance,” says Gordon.

“With its excellent public transport — the MyCiti has an extensive network from the CBD — living in the city centre is a convenient option. As traffic congestion intensifies throughout Cape Town, more residents are willing to forgo larger plots or gardens to live closer to work.”

The water crisis may also soon be a reason for moving. “The city has confirmed that the CBD will be exempt from Day Zero so we are seeing increased interest in CBD apartments at the moment,” says Pam Golding Properties area manager Basil Moraitis.

In downtown Cape Town in the vicinity of the Foreshore, the current Culemborg node is being redeveloped as a precinct.

The R10bn Harbour Arch development by Amdec will be Cape Town’s largest mixed-use residential development.

Due for full completion in five years, it is an example of downtown “new urbanism”, incorporating sustainable and energy efficient technologies.

ROOF GARDEN With a starting price of R2.5m VAT inclusive, options include studio, one, two and threebedroom apartments. In addition to a residents’ pool and exercise area, there will be a roof garden.

The development offers water-saving facilities and rainwater harvesting.

“The new urbanism trend, which requires all your daily needs to be within walking distance, is well established and gaining significant traction in SA,” says Amdec’s head of development Nicholas Stopforth.

Dogon Ashanti's Dogon building, Johannesburg CBD

HOMEFRONT

INTERNATIONAL

Going for citizenship in Grenada Caribbean ‘Spice Island’ ticks the boxes for South African applicants WORDS: GEORGINA GUEDES :: PHOTOS: SUPPLIED

EDUCATION Government schooling in Grenada is based on the British system and curriculum, and is free.

However, foreign residents might want to send their children to international schools in the capital of St George, such as the Grenada Montessori and Preparatory School or the Meridian School of Grenada.

According to FinGlobal, citizens of Grenada can send their children to St George’s University if they are interested in a career in medicine or veterinary science. “St George’s University is recognised as one of the top 10 medical universities by the US.” Graduation from this university, with Grenadian citizenship, will offer South African graduates global work opportunities, says FinGlobal.

Graduates from St George’s are licensed in Canada and 50 states in the US, and may practise in more than 50 countries around the world. The university also offers generous scholarships.

S

outh Africans seeking a citizenshipvia-investment destination need look no further than Grenada in the Caribbean, which has an active citizenship programme and a number of other perks.

The “Spice Island” in the southeastern Caribbean, just north of Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela on the South American mainland, now has so many plus factors that it tops the list of destinations for South Africans seeking a second passport, says CEO of LIO Global Nadia Read Theale, a specialist in citizenshipby-investment and second residency programmes.

RELOCATE Grenadian passport seekers may find it useful that there is no requirement to relocate to or live on the islands.

The programme leads to direct citizenship in a relatively fast three to fourmonth period. It is extended to the applicant’s spouse and

dependent children under 25.

Dual citizenship is permitted.

The investment programme requires a significant financial contribution to the country, or investment in an approved real estate project.

VETTING Applicants must go through a stringent vetting and due diligence process, including thorough background checks. Successful applicants and their families are granted citizenship.

The investment required starts at $350,000 into a government-approved real estate project.

Property must be held for a minimum of three years.

Alternatively, investors could make a nonrefundable contribution to the National Transformation Fund of $200,000. This figure does not include additional government and application fees.

The citizenship is fully generational and can be passed on. It also gives the holder the right to live, work and vote as any other citizen.

An example of a property that qualifies for the programme is a five-star hotel, the Kimpton Kawana Bay Resort, to be run by the internationally renowned operator Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants.

Kimpton is part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group and one of the world’s leading boutique hotel operators.

The development will open in 2019, but people can already obtain citizenship by investing in the project.

Another option is to invest in the Mount Cinnamon Resort and Beach Club. In this development, the investor owns a share in the resort.

INCLUSIVE The $350,000 investment in Mount Cinnamon includes most government fees as well as the due diligence fees for the main applicant and spouse.

The property must be held for a minimum of three years. Managing partner for Henley & Partners in southern Africa Nigel Barnes says Grenada passport holders may

travel visa-free to 127 countries including the UK and Schengen area, China, Brazil and other key business and lifestyle destinations.

TREATY It is also the only citizenship-by-investment programme that holds an E-2 Investor Treaty with the US, allowing Grenadian nationals the opportunity to enter and work in the US, says Barnes.

“It is the only investment migration programme in the Caribbean that offers successful applicants visafree access to China.”

In the global village, this kind of freedom of access is invaluable to business people and investors.

While one benefit of Grenada’s residency-byinvestment programme is that you are not required to take up residence on the island, there are reasons you might want to.

First, there is no language barrier. It is also a destination of staggering natural beauty, with both black and white sand

beaches, azure water, a 5.3ha crater lake and hot springs. It is a popular tourist destination, and this, along with the island’s nutmeg and mace crops, keeps the island’s economy stable. It is part of the Eastern Caribbean bank and currency system.

The Eastern Caribbean dollar is tied directly to the US dollar and is secure.

There are also no exchange control restrictions on the inward or outward transfer of US dollars.

APPEAL Many residency programmes around the world end when the property is sold, but this is not the case in Grenada, where true citizenship is the outcome of the investment. This makes Grenada appealing for families looking for the kind of global access the Grenada programme offers.

“If you are serious about your wealth and gaining access to key international markets, the Grenada programme is an exciting option,” says Read Theale.

HOMEFRONT PROPERTY NEWS

Evergreen’s waterwise construction and residential plans Sandton bridge wins awards

T

he new Rea Vaya M1 cable stay bridge in Sandton has won two construction accolades.

The SA Institution of Civil Engineers has named the bridge, completed in 2017, as the most outstanding project in the structural engineering

E

vergreen develops, owns and operates six retirement villages on the life rights model. Cobus Bedeker, development director of Evergreen Lifestyle, says that the company’s approximately 600 residents in their Cape Town Evergreen retirement developments will have waterwise solutions going forward thanks to its Evergreen five-point water action plan.

“We can confidently say there is a 0% chance of any of our residents having to queue at any one of the city’s water collection points,” says Bedeker.

The plan covers:

1. Radical reduction in consumption across villages This includes immediate cutting of water supply to landscaping and irrigation and external taps being shut off, plus ongoing education of staff and residents.

and purification plants, so this water will be fed back into the mains so that all residents have uninterrupted supply to homes and apartments.

In addition, the company will ensure delivery of the city’s bulk water supply made available to retirement villages and secure additional supply.

“We have existing boreholes – and we will be constructing treatment plants and water purification plants to treat it to a potable state and feed that back into our water mains,” he says.

“But the good news is that this will not be recovered via special levies — it is an investment that Evergreen will be making to these villages.”

3. Limiting water on construction projects

Potable water on construction sites has been limited to drinking water only.

Says Bedeker: “We are delivering treated effluent water to these sites for bulk 2. Securing alternative cleaning, dust suppression sources Evergreen has invested about and irrigation. We’ve also agreed that on each site R1m per village in treatment

category. The project then secured first place in the Civil Engineers Contractors category in The Construction World magazine awards.

Rea Vaya buses will have exclusive use of the bridge when operations begin in October 2018. The

bridge will make it possible for buses to move swiftly from Johannesburg CBD via Wynberg and Alexandra over the M1 and into Sandton Central.

More than 10,000 people a day walk between neighbouring Alexandra and Sandton Central.

borehole water is used only for ablutions and washing of hands.” The company has agreements with suppliers for all material such as cement that requires mixing with water, to be delivered ready-mixed to site.

4. Repurposing water The company is harvesting rainwater, stormwater and grey water in storage tanks.

It is dual-plumbing houses, apartments and communal buildings for domestic purposes. Secondary water lines will run through all buildings to flush toilets and for general cleaning.

5. Alternative construction methodologies Bedeker says waterless construction building methodologies are the way forward in SA. The company has researched these in the UK, US and China.

“It means we reduce our dependence on bricks and mortar. That is, a typical steel frame or timber frame home ­using dry-wall systems.

“Anything that limits water usage — not only sustainable but more environmentally appropriate.”

Greener urban development

U

rban property developer Blok has launched EIGHTONN, a five-storey building, in Norfolk Road in Sea Point.

The development will house 18 water- and energy-efficient apartments.

EIGHTONN will be equipped with access control, CCTV and on-site security. Other features include secure parking, high-speed internet and “water-intelligent” fittings.

“We have included into the design of the building a

rainwater harvesting system and borehole connection and filtration system,” says Blok MD Jacques van Embden. “This will connect to water tanks kept in the basement of the building.”

Glazing, water heating and smart energy products and appliances ensure more sustainable living habits and buildings, says Van Embden.

The residences will comprise one-, twoand three-bedroom homes, some of which are terrace apartments. Also on

offer are three- and fourbedroom penthouses.

Designed by architectural firm WAUW, the building spreads out from a central stem, with the apartments and their balconies flowing out around it.

This is replicated in each apartment, with balconies and the living areas on the outside and the sleeping and quieter areas tucked away on the inside of the building. Occupation is scheduled for summer 2019-2020.

Buyers tread lightly on purchase of secondary homes

A

cautious household sector increasingly put secondary home buying on the backburner in 2017, but FNB household and property sector strategist John Loos says signs indicate this may improve.

The secondary home demand percentage was slightly lower in Q4 2017

than in the previous quarter, representing the third successive quarter of decline, the 2017 Q4 FNB Estate Agent Survey showed.

Loos says this was to be expected, given the weak levels of business, consumer and investor confidence late in the year.

However, leading economic

indicators and general sentiment appear to be improving, suggesting that “nonessential” secondary home buying may improve in 2018.

In the buy-to-let segment of the secondary home market, the second half of the year returned lower estimated levels of buying, Loos says,

while agent buy-to-let expectations were on average weaker than in 2016.

One category of second-home buying that has declined to almost insignificant levels is the percentage buying a home for a family member as a primary residence, Loos says. Whereas this category

reached a multiyear high of 2.32% of total home buying in Q3 2015, this percentage was significantly lower through 2017, averaging only 0.7% for the year.

Loos says the estimated holiday home buying percentage has not yet shown a noticeable decline.

“Given the expectation of

stable interest rates in 2018, slightly improved economic growth compared with 2017, and seemingly significantly improved general sentiment at the start of this year, we would expect some increase in the estimated percentage of secondary (nonessential) home buying this year,” says Loos.

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OUR TEAM 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