MAIN IMAGE: Dr Andrew Golding – chief executive of Pam Golding Properties, Marie Rath – an international real estate adviser, representing Pam Golding Properties in Munich and in South Africa
Pam Golding Properties
Pam Golding Properties has set up a presence in Germany, adding one of Europe’s major residential property markets to a network that already spans several African countries, Mauritius, the Seychelles, and offices in Paris and Dubai.
The group says the move follows a marked rise in German interest in South African property. According to its own transaction data, Germany is now its second-largest source of international buyers after the United Kingdom, and its fastest-growing major market.
Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of Pam Golding Properties, said sales to German purchasers rose from 18 in 2018, at an average price of R5.78 million, to 50 in 2025, at an average of R9.15 million. German buying on the Cape Atlantic Seaboard has increased almost sevenfold since 2021, he said, with further growth in the Cape Winelands, historically popular with German buyers, and in Hout Bay.
Golding attributed the interest to a combination of lifestyle, relative value, accessibility, and flexibility. Some German buyers are looking for a second home or a seasonal base for the European winter, he said, while others are weighing a longer-term move for family, business, or professional reasons. He added that Cape Town’s minimal time-zone difference with Germany makes it well suited to remote working.
The group reports German demand across a range of Western Cape locations. On the Atlantic Seaboard, these include Clifton, Camps Bay, Bantry Bay, and Bakoven, while in the Southern Suburbs, Constantia draws families seeking larger homes and access to schools. Demand in Hout Bay is described as particularly strong, with the company estimating that around 40% of residential sales in the area, across all agencies, are to international buyers, roughly 80% of them German. Interest also extends to the Cape Winelands, George and Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route, and Langebaan on the West Coast.
Marie Rath, an international real estate adviser who represents Pam Golding Properties in Munich and in South Africa, said German buyers showed a clear preference for freehold ownership, which the company’s data puts at about 2.5 times the volume of sectional-title purchases by German buyers. The common priorities, she said, were security, privacy, outdoor space, and lifestyle, across a price range running from smaller investment apartments to high-end family homes.
Golding said German demand was also growing in other markets where the group operates, including Mauritius and Dubai, though interest in the UAE was more strongly investment-led. He pointed to a growing link between Germany’s start-up, investment, and creative communities and Cape Town, with some visitors turning an extended stay into a second home or eventually relocating.
