Cluttons South Africa has stated in its Q1 2011 report on the Cape Town property market that foreign buyers account for 7% of total sales in the South African city, by far the highest proportion in the country. The company adds that British account for a large percentage of those foreign buyers and that now is a good time to buy because it is a buyer’s market.

The report states that properties now take 19 weeks to sell on average and that only 15% of vendors achieve their asking price. The cheaper end of the housing market in Cape Town is benefiting from the loosening of banks lending criteria while the more expensive properties tend to attract cash buyers, especially UK buyers where cash is used or borrowed from UK banks at interest rates far below those currently available in South Africa.

‘British buyers can benefit from substantial discounts by shopping around. It is important to look for quality and prime locations’, said Jacques Ellis, managing director, Cluttons South Africa.

However, the company reports a lengthening in the average time homes spend on the market before selling, from 15 weeks and six days in Q4 2010 to 19 weeks and one day in Q1 2011. Over 80% of properties in Cape Town that sold for over R6m (£550,000) were to cash buyers, and the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard areas fetched the biggest prices.

Between June and December last year the average price of apartments in the City Bowl, where 327 apartments were sold last year, jumped 15.2% to R1.53m (£140,000).