Despite local and international influences that make the global economic outlook hard to predict, Cape Town's commercial property sector is fast-tracking its recovery - with office, retail and industrial occupation rates showing a healthy bounce-back as the return-to-work trend continues and companies begin to focus on growth and recovery.
 
This is according to Gregg Huntingford, CEO of Spire Property Solutions who says that in the first quarter of this year Spire have experienced strong resurgence in their letting activity across their management portfolio. "In elaboration, the company has concluded 57 new lease agreements, and 101 deals overall across the board, including new and renewed space. Additionally, there has been a significant reduction in collectable rental arrears, which have reduced by 5% over first 2 months of 2022."

"The retail sector has seen a strong return, with Spire having concluded 23 new lease contracts and 18 renewals in the past few months alone. This is closely followed by the office sector, with 16 new deals and 17 renewals," says Huntingford. "We also recently concluded an exciting 15 year deal, viewed over the lease term and option periods, for a long-term parking lease for a significant amount of parking in the CBD - which is indicative of a renewed commitment to working in the city." Huntingford advises that the reasons for this strong rebound are that companies are returning to office-based workdays, as well as the Western Cape strongly attracting skills as more and more South Africans from other provinces relocate to the Cape.

"This semigration is supporting Cape Town's resilient property market as skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and big corporates - both local and international - migrate to Cape Town to find work, set up businesses, and relocate their offices. Various multinational corporations are setting up bases in the Mother City. Apart from the obvious enticement of this beautiful city, South Africans from other provinces are in search of safety and security and a better quality of life."
 
"Various events on the social and economic landscape last year fuelled this trend, and the well-run municipalities here add another level of allure. Not to mention the Cape's move to greater energy independence, and what appears to be a city focused thrust on addressing infrastructure and technology to support business growth and investment to the region," says Huntingford.

"The property industry in the Cape is in an exciting space at the moment. Added to the fuelled demand in the city for commercial property, I believe that Spire's success can also be attributed to our approach of offering a very personal, tailor-made service, and the fact that we look to serve where we can create extra value in the properties we manage."

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