Cape Town - Sales of property to foreign buyers are booming despite the rand's rebound, according to the Pam Golding Property Group (PGP).

PGP said sales from its overseas campaigns almost doubled in the year to February to R1.169 billion from R600 million the previous year.

Its latest target market was Ireland, where its first exhibition in Dublin was attended by 500 possible buyers and resulted in 172 serious inquiries about property ranging in price from R500 000 to R10 million.

A spokesperson said that in addition to interest in buying holiday or retirement homes in South Africa, the Dublin exhibition showed there was "a huge demand in Ireland for investment properties in this country, including golf estate and lifestyle developments giving a high return on investment".

Andrew Golding, the chief executive of the property group, said there was "a significant increase in investors from Ireland, particularly those with a high disposable income", who wanted properties in coastal areas in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, on the Garden Route and in KwaZulu-Natal.

Prices here were still "extremely favourable when compared with European locations, not to mention the lower cost of living in South Africa [for those with hard currencies]".

Golding said that despite the depressed German economy and the generally unsettled situation in Europe, the response from property exhibitions in Munich and Dortmund in Germany, and Utrecht in Holland, had also been "significant", with German buyers prepared to invest between R1 million and R5 million 
.

The more price-conscious Dutch wanted to invest between R1 million and R2.5 million, mainly for retirement and in bed and breakfast establishments.

Meanwhile, an Irish company listed on the London Stock Exchange, Howard Holdings, has bought seven properties in Cape Town's central business district from Nedcor for an undisclosed amount. Sources in the property industry put the price at between R45 million and R50 million.

Howard Holdings' chairman, Frank Gormley, who visited Johannesburg and Cape Town last week as part of an Irish trade delegation, said the properties would be remodelled into a luxury hotel, flats and shops.

The Cape Town Partnership, an organisation formed by business and local government, assisted the deal, which is expected to add about 2 000 construction jobs and 4 000 permanent jobs.

A statement issued by the partnership said it had spent eight months assisting Howard Holdings with information on investment opportunities, tax incentives, the property market and the potential for leisure and retail investment in Cape Town.

Howard Holdings has established a new company, Eurocape Investments, with offices in Cape Town and Dublin. Gormley said it planned to build up a substantial portfolio in the Cape region.