South african slowdown to spark interest in overseas property

A slowdown in South African's housing market is expected to spark interest in overseas property this year.

With a predicted 1 per cent rise in the prime interest rate over the next 12 months, combined with declining economic growth, experts expect demand for South African real estate to decline.

"South Africa’s Reserve Bank (SARB) was forced to raise its benchmark repo rate by half a percentage point in the last week of January. It comes amid bleak economic forecasts across the board for South Africa, with the rand already devaluing by a further 6 per cent in the first month of 2016, and ratings agencies also warning of downgrades throughout the rest of the year," explains Select Property Group.

Property prices are now forecast to grow by 5 per cent in 2015, down from the 10 per cent recorded in 2013.

As a result, wealthy investors are now turning to international markets for better returns, such as the UK.