fbpx

Africa Property Not For The Faint-Hearted But For The Talented

Africa Property Not For The Faint-Hearted But For The Talented

From Africa Property News – By Ortneil Kutama

African countries offer exciting returns for property investors if they do their homework and study each market.

South African real estate investment trusts are looking for strong returns offshore and some opportunities may lie in Africa.

A panel discussion at the South African Property Owners Assocaition (Sapoa) Convention said that markets outside of South Africa were full of opportunities. The conference was recently held at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Ian Anderson, the chief investment officer at Grindrod Asset Management said more and more companies were looking for opportunities in Africa, outside of SA, and abroad.

The experts said investors need to treat African property markets with respect. Property is a long term game in America, Europe and also in the rest of Africa.

Addressing the conference, Bronwyn Corbett, the head of Mara Delta, which is the only listed pan African fund, admits interest is growing in African real estate but says it is a challenging continent to invest in.

“Every African country is different. Each is a challenge and it wouldn’t be worth doing this if it wasn’t a challenge,” she says.

Mara Delta had some early teething problems but issues have started to improve.

“I appreciate that investors want us to make good deals. We are starting to find things but we have to learn as we go along. Many South African investors don’t actually know what happens on the ground in Africa and may expect things to happen more quickly,” Corbett said.

Read more at Africa Property News