Rising property trend among wealthy in SA, apartment living

The 2023 Wealth Report said when it came to price growth, luxury apartments have been the best-performing residential property segment in the country over the past decade. 

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• The 2023 Wealth Report says apartment living is on the rise for the wealthy in South Africa.

• Johannesburg and Cape Town have the top luxury apartments in the country, but Umhlanga, Plettenberg Bay and Hermanus are also on their way up. 

South Africa is home to almost twice as many high-net-worth individuals as any other country on the African continent, according to a new wealth report, and there is an interesting trend on the rise where they are increasingly investing in luxury apartments. The 2023 Wealth Report said when it came to price growth, luxury apartments have been the best-performing residential property segment in the country over the past decade as buyers move away from standalone houses. 

The report by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth added this trend could possibly be linked to the safety and security offered by apartment complexes, potentially lower municipal rates and how much easier it was to maintain an apartment versus a house. 

Johannesburg and Cape Town have the top luxury apartments in the country, while Umhlanga, Plettenberg Bay and Hermanus are towns that are on the up and up in this regard. 

Here are some of the most notable ones: 

Some of SA`s top luxury apartment complexes. 

Towns on the rise

The report also highlighted Plettenberg Bay, Hermanus, Keurboomstrand, and Nature`s Valley (all in the Western Cape) as the country`s up-and-coming `wealth hubs`. 

`After Johannesburg and Cape Town, [Plettenberg Bay] is the top location in South Africa for ultra-luxe homes, with approximately 350 homes valued over $1 million [R17.8 million]; [it] has seen a big rise in permanent residents over the past few years, which has boosted its wealth,` it said, adding while Cape Town suburbs dominated, square metre prices in parts of Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay were starting to catch up. 

Hermanus` rise is attributed to its increasing popularity as a retirement destination, while Nature`s Valley`s appeal as a relatively untouched natural gem has made it a key city for nature lovers with big pockets. 

African billionaires leaving the continent 

The report also revealed the continent`s millionaire population was estimated to grow by 42% in the next decade, with 37 800 dollar millionaires living in the country now. 

On the flip side, several African-born billionaires have left the continent.

The report said:

Notably, there are 52 African-born billionaires globally, of whom only 23 still live on African soil. 

`This is a significant concern as many billionaires are entrepreneurs and company founders who therefore have the ability to create significant employment in their host countries.`

New visas planned for South Africa

The Department of Home Affairs says it has started laying the groundwork for new visa types to be introduced in South Africa, in a bid to draw in skilled workers.

The department has published its 2023/24 annual performance plan, which includes its intentions and targets for the current financial year.

In the plan, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the department is currently exploring new visa categories, including start-up visas and remote working visas.The minister has long responded to inquiries about these visas by saying that the current regulatory framework to introduce them does not exist, and had indicated the department had no plans in place to change this.

However, these visas, and a wider push to draw skilled labour to South Africa, have been key points in president Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) for the last two years.

Action on Ramaphosa’s promises is now finally being taken.

“The comprehensive review of the work visa system is underway to explore new visa categories that could enable economic growth, such as a start-up visa and a remote working visa,” Motsoaledi said.

“In this regard, certain process and policy recommendations proposed by the Vulindlela Task Team are being considered by the DHA for implementation. These recommendations are aimed at establishing a visa regime that will attract skills and promote tourism. ”

As part of these plans, the department said it would publish a White Paper on the Management of Citizenship, International Migration and Refugee Protection, which will address these new visa types, among other key immigration issues.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2023 State of the Nation Address made commitments such as the establishment of a more flexible points-based system to attract skilled migration, implementing a trusted employer scheme to make the visa process easier for large investors and streamlining application requirements as well as introducing a remote worker visa and special dispensation for high-growth start-ups

These will all be covered in the whitepaper, the department said.

A consultation document (green paper) is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of the financial year (end June), with a whitepaper expected to be submitted to cabinet by the end of the fourth quarter (April 2024).

In the meantime, the DHA said it will also continue rolling out an e-Visa system, which will place technology at the centre of operations by making it easy and secure to enter and depart South Africa.

Visa chaos

While the department has big plans for reworking the visa regime, it is currently sitting with a massive backlog that is causing chaos in its back offices.

The department announced last week that it would be extending the validity of some standing visas while it tries to process over 62,700 applications and waivers that have backed up.

To put the extent of the backlog in context, the department aimed to have most critical skills visas processed within four weeks of application in 2022, but has estimated that it only managed to process 20% of these applications in that time.

This is down from 57% in 2021. The DHA has now set a lofty goal of having 90% of these visas processed in 2023  however it anticipates only being able to clear the current backlog some time in 2024, so this is looking unattainable.

One of the key solutions the department is proposing is introducing “one-top-shop” visa processing through the Visa Adjudication System (VAS).

“The VAS enables the capability to submit visa applications online and adjudicate electronically, from receipt of applications to issuing of outcomes. This brings efficiency and supports facilitating the movement of business persons, migrant workers with skills and prospective investors to South Africa,” the department said.

The implementation of these one-stop-shop centres will offer investors and their families reduced turnaround times for priority applications by establishing a dedicated centre at the back office to deal with applications received from these centres and offer immigration-related advice.

The VAS will provide for the central administration of all visa and permitting applications made within South Africa through the department’s appointed frontline servicing partner, VFS Global.

“The White Paper on Home Affairs states that by 2025 core elements of the new model must be fully functional, including basic administrative and core business systems, and required security standards must be maintained,” it said.

By 2029 the envisioned end-state must be achieved with the legacy model fully replaced, world-class standards maintained and funding for the full execution of the DHA mandate secured.

                        www.samigration.com

SA has significant deficits in areas like technical skills. 

A major overhaul of South Africa`s visa regime is needed, and during his upcoming investment conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa should address the issue, according to Business Leadership SA (BLSA).

`The president could use the opportunity to announce a credible intervention to fix the visa mess. That would go far to addressing one of the major sources of a lack of confidence in South Africa`s investment case,` the BLSA says in its latest newsletter.

Visa administration problems at the Department of Home Affairs are unacceptable and a serious impediment to the South African economy, according to BLSA.  

The slow processing of applications for work visas and the extension of existing ones create an `impossible situation` for companies doing business or wanting to do business in SA. This is despite efforts by Operation Vulindlela in the Presidency to revise the scarce skills list, the BLSA said in its weekly newsletter on Monday.

`For company executives, the uncertainty created by the administrative chaos is a massive turnoff. If a company is considering the location of their regional headquarters, how does South Africa compare to competitors such as Dubai?` asks the BLSA.

It estimates that more than 50 000 foreigners working in SA face losing their status when their visas expire, purely because the Department of Home Affairs has been unable to process their applications in time.

It points out that SA has significant deficits in areas like technical skills. `We need to give international companies the confidence to plan on investments here without the fear that they will simply be unable to send their people because we cannot manage our bureaucracy,` states the BLSA.

`Next week, the president will be hosting the fifth South Africa Investment Conference, which is aimed to attract foreign investment to the country. The president could use the opportunity to announce a credible intervention to fix the visa mess...Organised business is eager to help.`

www.samigration.com

Alberton Home Affairs weighs in on how to apply for a first-time ID book as a naturalised citizen and permanent residence permit holder. Alberton Home Affairs has confirmed that those born outside the country are issued with green bar-coded identity books and should go to specific home affairs offices for assistance. South African citizens are issued smart ID cards when they apply for an identity document. Should you lose, damage or have your ID book stolen, you can request a Temporary Identification Certificate (TIC).

All green ID book applicants, including naturalized citizens and permanent residence permit holders, must be referred and assisted at the nearest non-modernised offices.

The home affairs offices issuing green identity books include Temba, Mabopane, Carletonville, Orange Farm, Lenasia, Ennerdale and Eldorado Park.

www.samigration.com

OPINION, Bernard Chiguvare: I left Zimbabwe to live in SA. I want to go back. This is why it’s hard

Many South Africans wonder why so many of us Zimbabweans came to be settled in their country, and wonder why we do not simply return to our homeland.

This is my story about my rural homestead in Zimbabwe that I felt forced to leave. I would like to go back and spend the rest of my life there, but it isn’t that simple.

From the early 1960s, I lived in Buhera District in Manicaland Province. I have a deep bond with this place, even though the soil is today very poor for farming.

In 1987 I got married. My uncle allocated me three hectares to build a family homestead. I was earning a salary that allowed me to immediately build a three-bedroomed house and also a small rondavel. Though my wish was to build a better home, I had limited resources.

We used to grow groundnuts and maize for our own consumption.

Economic meltdown

Then, around 1998, I became employed by the Zimbabwean Public Service Commission under the Department of Home Affairs, and I relocated my family to Harare, because I was working there. Later, I was transferred to Masvingo District.

During these years I used to employ someone to look after my home and the animals. I made sure that every holiday our family returned to our rural home.

In 2006, during the Zimbabwe economic meltdown, four of my six children were at boarding school. My salary had become tiny when converted to the South African rand or US dollar. I couldn’t even afford my accommodation. My resources were so strained that I had to let go of the person looking after my rural home. I still used to visit regularly, but I noticed the house was being burgled and vandalised.

It was a difficult situation. Should I leave my home to be vandalised so that I can just focus on my children’s education? I decided this was the best I could do, and I had to all but abandon my rural home.

But it soon became apparent that if I did not make a plan by the end of 2006, my children were going to be forced to drop out of school.

I sought advice from a friend, a teacher, who used to buy shoes from Bata Shoe Company in Zimbabwe to sell in South Africa. I tried to join him but it did not work out for me.

By 2007, I had noticed that a number of my friends had left for South Africa. My wife also went to Cape Town and was selling various things, such as brooms.

I asked myself, “Should I, too, leave Zimbabwe for South Africa?” I had worked for nine years under the Department of Home Affairs. What work could I look for in South Africa? I simply did not know. My salary had become worthless, so I left my job. In March 2007 I left for South Africa.

But always at the back of my mind was my rural and true home, where I wished to retire one day. I love the place �` the environment and its biodiversity. There is enough space for gardening and a bit of crop farming. I used to keep ten head of cattle, but three were stolen and the others I had to sell.

Home vandalised 

By 2010 my home had been completely vandalised. I have no idea who did it, but they not only stole everything �` our clothes, the three-piece lounge suite, the kitchen utensils �` they also made off with the window frames, the panes and the doors. It was distressing, but I had to remain steadfast, concentrating on the education of my children.

I eventually found someone to look after the place again, but when he visited his family during the Christmas holiday, he never returned. I have been told he was seeking work at a mine about 60km east of my home. No one was staying at the house.

In November last year, I returned to find that the roofs of the rondavel and the house had caved in. But I have started to renovate the place and I plan to extend it.

In 2009, the South African government introduced the Dispensation of Zimbabwean Permit, which became the Zimbabwean Special Permit (ZSP) in 2014 and the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) in 2017. Then it was announced that the ZEP would expire in June this year.

For all these years I could manage to support my family by working legally in South Africa. If the ZEP ends, I will have to return to Zimbabwe and live at my rural home.

I love my home and wish to stay there, but right now I am not sure how I will manage it financially.

  www.samigration.com