MAIN IMAGE: Carl Coetzee, CEO of BetterBond; Grant Smee, MD of the Only Realty Property Group
Estate agents have seen a steady increase in buyers and sellers moving between provinces, also referred to as semigration. Various factors are said to contribute to this movement, notably the perception of better security and service delivery in certain provinces, the work-from-home movement, and affordability. The result? A new lease on life for coastal towns.
Carl Coetzee, CEO of BetterBond, shares that coastal towns such as Hermanus have broad appeal, attracting buyers looking for a primary residence as well as a second or holiday home. Whereas Hermanus has traditionally been a holiday destination, or the seaside retreat of retirees, it has become increasingly popular with younger buyers with school-going children.
He cites Property24 data which indicates that buyers between the ages of 36 and 49 account for almost 28% of all buyers in the area, underlining the growing interest in Hermanus as a primary residence. Many semi-retirees and professionals who can work remotely have also relocated to Hermanus, and 39.4% of all buyers are between the ages of 50 and 64. Retirees now account for the smallest percentage of Hermanus’ buyers – only 23.5% are older than 65.
Grant Smee, MD of the Only Realty Property Group concurs that the majority of those semigrating to the coast (or rather, small coastal towns) are middle-aged buyers and retirees. He believes this is partly due to affordability, as property even in the less popular coastal towns is becoming increasingly expensive, and due to the fact that these demographics are less likely to be governed by the need to be close to an in-person office. While there is a small percentage of holiday-makers purchasing holiday homes on the coast, this is viewed as a luxury in the current market with many choosing to downscale due to the cost of living crisis.
Smee points out that “while the Western Cape is still the number one semigration hotspot, most of the influx is concentrated outside of Cape Town due to the low availability of stock and high property prices. Thus, much of the activity resulting from relocating is found in the Boland & Overberg and along the Garden Route in places like George and Mossel Bay”.
We know where to, but where are people moving from?
The most recent data examining where semigrants are moving from comes from Lightstone at the end of 2021 as seen in the chart below. The majority of semigrants (43%) are from Gauteng.
While the bulk of semigration is out of Gauteng, Smee shares that in the Western Cape many are choosing to relocate to estates which are being built outside of Cape Town due to space constraints within the city, resulting in a surge of demand in areas like Paarl and the Boland. Many of these estates are new and hence homes are being bought off-plan.
Smee says semigration is also driven by a desire for country-living, with people opting for larger, more affordable freehold homes in smaller towns previously thought of as holiday destinations. This shift in demand for freehold homes on the periphery of metros or in smaller towns was evident in house-price inflation – with freehold homes enjoying a premium for much of the pandemic.
