New premises on William Nicol Drive in Byanston have been purchased by Galetti Knight Frank to house the rapidly expanding team, and co-owner and joint-CEO Tony Galetti remains upbeat about the projected performance of the market for the coming year.

Knight Frank is regarded worldwide as the real estate leader on the African continent and can provide indispensible local expertise in the form of advice and knowledge about the nuances of Africa's many markets. Galetti says, "Knight Frank is active in 9 African countries, so we can really leverage our affiliation to add value to our local retailers and logistics businesses who are looking to move north on the continent."

Galetti Knight Frank will be hosting a Knight Frank African Summit in early March, to facilitate valuable networking between their South African clients and the Knight Frank Africa heads.

With the expansion and relocation of the Gauteng brokerage, Galetti Knight Frank is looking to increase its coverage of Johannesburg and Pretoria by employing more qualified dealmakers as well as nurturing existing relationships with its larger landlord and buyer clients.

The further establishment of a Knight Frank valuations department at the new Bryanston offices will mean a strong presence in the three main South African business centres, translating into more synergies within the collective team.

Galetti indicates while there is volatility in the listed property sector for the short term, in the long term, the fundamentals of escalating rentals, low gearing, and good quality properties combined with positive prospects for capital growth, indicate the sector will perform well over the long term.

For investors looking to capitalize on the real opportunities this year, Galetti cites an increased demand in the A-grade industrial sector. Also, the retail sector still seems to be trading well and provided the high targets for expansion evidenced in 2013 remain, there will be a continual search for more development opportunities throughout South Africa as well as into Africa.

The office sector remains the weakest performing sector and according to Galetti, this will continue for some time. The massive decentralization from the major CBDs in the 90s, specifically in Johannesburg and Durban, has created a huge amount of vacancy in B and C grade properties.

Furthermore, the tremendous amount of new commercial space coming onto the market, as well as the movement towards green and energy efficient buildings, will likely lead to further volatility in the office market sector for the foreseeable future.