Cape Town – Owners of luxury Cape Town properties are set to break into the money club over the period of the 2010 Soccer World Cup with rental prices set to triple, to the delight of luxury home owners.
So says Ric Meulemans, director of www.capetown-direct.com and owner of 2 luxurious villas he successfully rents in Constantia.
We chatted to Ric about the price increases of property rentals and whether people will be willing to pay such high prices considering the current economic climate worldwide, which finds itself unstable riding on the back end of of high oil prices.
“Well essentially the people that these properties cater towards are more interested in the quality of the rental, money is a secondary consideration. They will not be affected like most of the population with regards to oil hikes. You must remember that these people are coming from overseas, so the exchange rate is highly in their favour, and in their countries they are already wealthy, so factor in the exchange rate and they are basically royalty in Cape Town”
“Looking at our rental options, our villas are top of the line properties situated in the finest areas of Cape Town such as Hout Bay, Constantia and Camps Bay. We aren’t marketing houses in Kenilworth, we are selling movie star living in elite suburbs” Said Ric
Lambo or Ferrarri? Lambo or Ferrari? No, let’s get the Lear jet
“We are targeting the top end of the market and our villas are top tier places. You are paying for exclusivity and if our guests want a butler, or a chef from a top restaurant to cook for them, we will organise it for them. If they want bodyguards, or they want to charter a private jet to Plettenberg Bay for the day then we will take care of that. Essentially guests are paying for a professional service and a professional team. If they want to be driven to a wine farm in a Hummer for a wine tasting session, and then dropped back home in a helicopter, we will do it, but obviously it comes at a cost”
“You must remember that these people are used to living like royalty in the finest areas the world has to offer. For them, helicopters are nothing and private jets are their form of transport”
Veuve or Moet? Veuve or Moet? Honey, let’s just buy France
I also asked which would be the most popular areas in Cape Town for rentals.
“Our enquiries are mainly focused around the following areas”, says Ric:
“Another thing that the general public forget is that major corporations will also send their top directors down for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Let’s say, for example, Coca-Cola decide to send their major directors down to Cape Town for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, they will obviously be looking for top accommodation and will pay no matter what the cost. For these types of companies, this spending is nothing in comparison to their turnover and profits”
“To give you an idea, Carpe Diem, a villa in Camps Bay, could fetch 100k (ZAR) per day come World Cup time”
Ric’s parting quote sums it all up:
“There are no bad times for these clients. Oil can rise to $300 a barrel and they are still going to be drinking Moet at their Clifton villa while a sushi chef prepares their meal and the Lambo sits in the driveway”
Sean Lloyd
Editor
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