 The Mother City is a hub of fashion, art design and an eclectic mix of people coming together from all walks of life. Making your home in Cape Town begs the questions, where will I stay and which neighborhood will I call home? Today we've got Simon Bray, CEO of Private Property to take us through Cape Town, City Bowl as one of those options and what it looks like from a property perspective. Simon, so good to have you here again. Location, location, location. Yeah, talking your backyard. I know my backyard now, let's be honest. When we think about Cape Town, it is known for a rather expensive lifestyle and when it comes to renting and buying property, the pockets need to go rather deep. Would you agree and why would anybody consider living here? Well, I mean Cape Town's got so much to offer, you know, Mother City, you know, all sorts of landmarks that we're used to seeing all over international media. So there are a lot of reasons why people want to live in Cape Town. And that's driven the property market. It's fueled it. It's the growth in Cape Town has been beyond the growth in some of the other areas in South Africa and I think that's making it a little less affordable than other markets in South Africa, which is a bit of a shame because it's a beautiful place to live and you want to be able to live close to work. But certainly the City Bowl still offers an element of affordability and I think that's what's really driving that more than some of the other areas. Now I know I chose to live in City Bowl area because of work and it's good to be close to work, but why would someone choose the City Bowl and not rather move out towards the suburbs? Well, I think your commute time is a huge factor. The fact that you're right in the mix that business is on nearby and I think that's one thing that's very exciting about what's happening in the City Bowl. I'm particularly excited about it myself. It's very international in its approach as a city. You know, a lot of the other cities in South Africa, you're seeing a decentralisation. You're seeing businesses move out of the city centre and have been doing for years and with that the residential suburbs also start to sprawl out away from the centre of the city. Whereas in Cape Town it's been able to retain businesses in the centre, it's been able to renew old buildings and, you know, revive old areas and I think that's what's exciting is it's kept the centre close, you know, between Table Bay and Table Mountain. So it's exciting to see that and it's definitely driving an European style of property in South Africa. Yeah, there's definitely just something, a certain je ne sais quoi about City Bowl. Now, when it comes to renting or buying properties there, what are we looking at? You know, purchasing a property in the City Bowl is still fairly affordable when you compare it to other markets just next door like Atlantic Seaboard. I think that's driven a lot by these older buildings that are being refurbished and you've got great opportunities to buy, say, two-bed flats for under three million rand, which in the context of the rest of the South African market may sound expensive but in terms of the Cape Town property market that's actually really good value. In terms of renting, you know, for about 15,000 to 18,000 rand you can get a good two-bed flat in the city, which for someone that is living, working right nearby, that's a fantastic lifestyle choice, you know, very convenient. And one that I like as well, convenience is everything. What is the Simon Brae tip of the day? When you're looking at a city, it's very important to pick an apartment that has something unique and something different about it. So pick something with an outlook, pick something with a great parking because in the city parking is a premium and you'll ensure that your property value is always performed better than those around you. Absolutely. Well, thank you, Simon, for being here. You know, one thing that these conversations allow us to just, you know, kind of confirm is that we have gorgeous neighborhoods all around South Africa. It's beautiful to see that. You know, we did this project where we wanted to go around the country and profile some of the great neighborhoods in South Africa and it's just exciting to see how different each one of them are from one another. There's this great character, there's these unique elements. It's been a special project actually. I know. We love it here. Although you go, never fear when Simon is here. Simply log on to www.privateproperty.co.ca and let them guide you through the right property for you.