Pam Golding Properties expands into Germany as German buyer demand climbs
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Pam Golding Properties has opened in Germany, where its transaction data shows Germany has become its second-largest source of international buyers after the UK and its fastest-growing major market.
Pam Golding Properties has expanded into Germany, extending the South African estate agency's international network into a market it says is now its fastest-growing source of overseas buyers.
Andrew Golding, chief executive of Pam Golding Properties, said the move is part of globalising the business, adding to a footprint across several African countries, the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius and Seychelles, and more recently bespoke offices in Paris and Dubai. "This move represents another important step in building a network of destinations where it makes strategic sense for us to operate," he said.
The group's own transaction data shows sales to German purchasers increased from 18 in 2018, at an average purchase price of R5.78 million, to 50 in 2025, with the average price rising to R9.15 million. German buying on the Cape Atlantic Seaboard has increased almost seven-fold since 2021, with strong growth also evident in the Cape Winelands and Hout Bay.
"The appeal of South Africa lies in a combination of lifestyle, relative value, accessibility and flexibility," Golding said. Some buyers use the country as a second home or seasonal base, particularly during the European winter, while others consider a longer-term move for lifestyle, family, business or professional reasons.
Hout Bay has particularly strong international demand, with around 40 per cent of residential sales across all agencies in the area estimated to be to international buyers, of whom approximately 80 per cent are German, according to the group. On the Atlantic Seaboard, areas including Clifton, Camps Bay, Bantry Bay and Bakoven appeal to German and other international buyers seeking a premium coastal lifestyle.
Marie Rath, the international real estate adviser who represents Pam Golding Properties in Munich and South Africa, said German buyers are open to sectional-title properties as lock-up-and-go homes or investments, but show a clear preference for freehold ownership, which accounts for approximately 2.5 times the volume of sectional-title purchases by German buyers.