Foreign homebuyers bet on cheap rand
South Africa seen as a safe haven as wars rage abroad
Amid geopolitical tensions, foreigners continue to cash in on the weak rand to buy trophy homes in South Africa — at a fraction of the cost of high-end global properties.
The Western Cape, especially Cape Town, is the biggest beneficiary. Last year a Russian buyer paid R150m for a Clifton mansion, the highest price paid for a residential property in 2023. The sale was one of 96 high-end sales of more than R20m in the city, several of which went to buyers with hard currency. Since 2019, sales with prices of more than R20m have nearly doubled while the total sales value has surged by 120% — from R1.46bn to R3.23bn...
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