South Africa’s commercial retail property sector has been doing well, especially in the retail office sector, where there have been a lot of new developments, according to South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) president Nomzamo Radebe, who spoke at a Sapoa media event on Monday. Radebe said, however, that there was a worry that the amount of vacancies in new office developments was “too high”, though the market believes that the vacancy trend will turn around in two to three years.
She added that Sapoa was getting mixed messages regarding the outlook for South Africa’s economic growth, and that the uncertainty could also negatively impact on the office space sector. “Political uncertainty and the potential credit rating downturn the country is facing by ratings agency Moody’s in December are making people in the retail commercial property sector a bit hesitant,” she noted.
Sapoa CEO Neil Gopalnoted that the recent change in South Africa’s political landscape, following the local government elections, had been seen as positive by some CEOs in the industry. He added that Sapoa was waiting to hear what the policies of the new Johannesburg and Tshwane mayors were to attract new investment into those districts. “We have recently had engagements with the new mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, which have been very positive,” he said.
