An email currently doing the rounds has Cape Town ratepayers up in arms – especially in light of the new proposed rates hike. The email is a copy of the current electricity account for the new Cape Town stadium – and the figure is a staggering R2.83 Million!
According to the city’s 2010 team, it costs about R350 000, excluding VAT, to electrify the stadium each month – but they say the city is only responsible for charges incurred after mid-December, which is when the contractor handed over the stadium. Apparently all electricity charges incurred before the completion of the contract are part of the capital cost of building the stadium and are the responsibility of the contractor. Read More »
After a dismal three year period, the South African property market finally seems poised for an upswing, according to the latest statistics released by ooba, South Africa’s leading home loan originator, which show that the recovery in the residential property market accelerated in February and looked set to continue this upswing. February was also the ninth consecutive month of positive house price growth, which signifies that the recovery in property prices continues to gather momentum.
Read More »
MATCH Event Services PTY (”MATCH”) is the company selected by FIFA to contract sufficient accommodation (both hotel and non-hotel) to meet the needs of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. This is the first time such a deal has been struck and there was great optimism that this would bode well for the industry.
Initially MATCH endeavored to ensure that it supported the South African government’s legacy objectives for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. To this end, they worked closely with the appropriate South African stakeholder organizations and groups, incorporating small, medium and micro enterprises within the accommodation industry into MATCH’s accommodation offering.
Read More »
There has recently been a lot of hype created by the banks promoting 100% bonds, and this has led the expectation that every buyer who applies for a 100% bond will be successful. In fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Read More »
Are you looking for accommodation in Cape Town during the 2010 Soccer World Cup? Well, we compared living at the Green Point Stadium and living in one of our luxury villas. Here are 5 of comparisons we came up with: Read More »
While there are undoubtedly people out there taking a chance and charging exorbitant prices for accommodation during the world cup, the reality is that, for the most part, rates being charged are very reasonable and market-related. In fact, the results of an independent survey conducted by capeinfo.com and endorsed by Cape Town Tourism, show that reports on overpricing by accommodation establishments are largely based on perception rather than reality. It must also be remembered that the property rentals which recently made headlines are the exception - the astronomical prices of luxury private ocean side villas are not a true representation of the cost of staying in Cape Town during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
Read More »
Those of us living in the major centers around South Africa are expecting the World Cup to impact on our daily lives in some way, but many may not be aware of the extent. The following points were recently highlighted by former World Cup Ambassador, Gary Bailey, at an FNB Business Dinner, where he presented some interesting stats on World Cup expectations.
The following alerts may affect employees as well as families, so please take note and plan accordingly:
- Schools will be closed for almost 4 weeks over the world cup – start making arrangements for your children now.
- Air fares will rise steeply over this period, with tickets between the cities costing up to R8000 per seat. Some flights will also be departing directly after matches due to accommodation problems in some of the centers.
- As flights will be operating 24 hours a day, expect noise and expect traffic around the airport at all hours.
- There will also be no parking available at airports – arrange drop-offs and allow for plenty of time to get to the airport.
- Fresh vegetables and fruit WILL be scare, if not unavailable at times. During the German World Cup, fresh produce had to be imported. Read More »
Foreigners who are booking accommodation for the 2010 World Cup on line are being warned about fraud and are being advised to book property through reputable agents only.
The South African Fraud Prevention Service is cautioning visitors that con artists are advertising rental properties on the internet with the guarantee of confirmation upon receipt of deposit. However, once tourists deposit the money, the fraudsters and their adverts disappear without a trace.
According to the services’ executive director, Patrick Cunningham, this practice is already damaging the image of the World Cup.
When choosing an agency, don’t be shy to ask for their credentials and affiliations as well as their company registration number – any agency worth their salt would happily provide the information. We at Cape Realty are proud members of The South African Estate Agents Affairs Board (EAAB) as well as The Tourism Grading Council, as are many other reputable companies.
Property is usually regarded as a serious business, but it can certainly have its light-hearted moments as was shown recently when a US property website asked a number of residential real estate agents what the strangest thing is that they’ve seen at an open house. The responses ranged from funny to downright bizarre:
Michael Signet, executive director of sales at Bond New York Real Estate: When the listing broker invited my client and myself into an open house, showed us around the apartment and when we go to the master bedroom, the seller and his girlfriend were in bed — awake [and] reading the paper [with] no clothes on.
Douglas Heddings, associate broker and founder of the Heddings Property Group at Charles Rutenberg Realty: A drying rack full of panties in a living room, a toilet seat that was taped closed so that open house attendees could not use the facilities…and a spray painted wall saying “monkey nipple” on a teenager’s bedroom wall, which the seller refused to remove.
Read More »
While a few exclusive, property rentals for the World Cup have recently been concluded and made front-page news - such as the R7.5 million deal for a high profile international client in Clifton - these are definitely the exception rather than the norm, and have unrealistically raised everyone’s hopes of cashing in during this period.
We at Cape Realty prefer to take a more realistic approach as well as a longer view, which we believe has already begun to bear fruit. We have to date concluded a number of World Cup bookings and have many enquiries pending, yet it would seem that many of the Cape Town rental agents who jumped on the World Cup band wagon have yet to conclude their first booking.
According to a current on-line survey (Cape Town Tourism), over 64% of respondents are charging at least 20% more than standard peak rates, some as high as 200% above, and 59.1% of all respondents do not, as yet, have any confirmed bookings.
Read More »
