Dogon/Group notches up sales of over R50-m in April..

Dogon/Group Properties notched up record sales of over R50-million last month, despite a market that Denise Dogon describes as “choppy”.
Dogon, who has just been nominated for the Nedbank Property Professionals’ “Movers and Shakers” award, says that since the beginning of 2005 the market has been unusual. While there has been a great deal of interest from international investors who see Cape Town as one of the world’s growth cities, prices have risen and this has affected the affordability of many properties.

 

Another factor impacting on the current market is that high entry level prices for top-end properties are attracting increasingly sophisticated overseas buyers who expect world-class service, but many unqualified agents entering the industry are too inexperienced to adequately service their needs.

 

She adds that with new tax regulations soon to be introduced by SARS relating to property investments by non-resident buyers and capital gains, a far higher level of education and knowledge will be required from industry professionals.

 

Cape Town is such an impressive city offering so much that people who were born here and are presently living abroad, as well as foreigners who had never visited Cape Town before, are showing a desire to return, she says.

 

Dogon, whose agency currently in April holds an estimated 75% of the Clifton market, says her company has received a huge response this year from foreign visitors to their sophisticated marketing, which drew interest from many influential people - some of them world renowned figures - from all parts of the world, including Russia, America and various European nations.

 

“Despite the rise in prices and the strengthening of the rand, top properties in top positions are still cheaper here than in other top cities in the world, and buyers see that the prices for exceptional properties are justified,” she says.

 

She adds that while the problem of crime in South Africa obviously needs to be addressed, this is not deterring investors from buying here. “Overseas buyers we have shown homes to have remarked that there is crime in top areas everywhere in the world. An article published in the current Vanity Fair, which describes the high level of crime in Bel Air, Beverly Hills, confirms this. The article stated that no matter how many electric fences or patrols there were, homes in the area were still being burgled, and it could take four or five hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond to calls from people who reported burglaries.”

 

She says that clients who own homes in the south of France or Spain have also remarked that the crime level in Cape Town is no higher than it is in the wealthier areas of Europe where people have traditionally bought second homes, and have said that they don’t feel as threatened here.
A further incentive to foreign buyers is that, with the ongoing development of the city, Cape Town is no longer perceived as a boring place. This has further ignited the flame of desire in foreign visitors to own property in the city, she says. “Cape Town now has sophisticated venues and activities to satisfy everybody, from beaches, sun and outdoor cafes to a casino, the village trendiness of areas like De Waterkant, clubs, and world-class shopping centres and hotels, and it is continually developing.”

 

As a result of the demand, her company has had a very good start to the year, continuing its outstanding track record of selling over R1-billion of property since its establishment just over two years ago. There is also a steady flow of sales every day at The Rockwell, the Green Point development that made news headlines after bones were discovered on the site, where two additional floors have been added to the original design. In addition, her company has launched a luxurious retirement development called The Palms Garden Retreat in Sea Point.

 

Dogon points out that details of some of her company’s bigger sales can’t be disclosed. “The bigger the sale, the more discretion is required by the seller and buyer. Where we have recently sold to high profile people, especially world figures whose identities have to be protected, we have been requested not to mention the sale at all.”

 

Contact Dogon/Group Properties on 021 433 2580.