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PropertyFox's deep dive into the ‘virtual neighbourhoods’ this year revealed that insiders are loving the outliers, which means that people are moving further away from city centres to enjoy increased space at potentially more affordable rates.
Together with Metric, they sifted through around 60,000 hashtags, posts and comments from South African residents.
Turns out that the Mother City is the most mentioned city, once again, says Crispin Inglis, PropertyFox co-founder, with Johannesburg and Durban following behind.
"Camps Bay remained the most hashtagged hood in the country, with newcomers Hout Bay and Umhlanga coming in second and third, respectively," says Inglis.
While Sandton fell to number seven on the list from second place in 2016, Bloubergstrand, Soweto and Sunningdale all interestingly made the top ten list for the first time this year, adds Inglis.
READ MORE: Here’s what R50 million will buy you in Cape Town, Joburg and Durban
Why the change?
Inglis believes that in the midst of the economic downturn, people are adopting a longer-term outlook on property investment.
“Instead of buying a smaller place in a trendy suburb, then moving in a few years when a bigger house is desired, people are looking to reduce transfer fees and the other costs of a sale by purchasing a larger home in a more affordable area from the get go,” he says.
If you're a property investor, know that Sunningdale saw the most hashtag growth of all the hoods. It also had a 3.8% increase in property investment.
Bloubergstrand also saw a 11.54% growth from 2016 to 2017, while Soweto enjoyed marginal growth of 1.6%.
Other areas of interest included Centurion (2.2% growth), Braamfontein (2.2% growth), and Durban’s Port Shepstone, which was the clear winner with 1371% year-on-year property price growth.
When it came to the most hashtagged restaurants and bars, Grand Africa Café & Beach in Cape Town, Marble in Joburg and Eyadini Lounge in Durban were among the top three.
Who mostly influences the popularity of places?
Influencers, of course!
READ MORE: 11 things to do around South Africa that won't cost you a thing
They were found to play a crucial role in driving the popularity of places to eat and socialise. Inglis explains that social media is a major currency of credibility.
"When an influencer raves about a restaurant, it’s not long before everyone’s eating there – for example, Tshepang Mollison is known for posting gorgeous foodie snaps from around SA, which no doubt catalyses more business for these institutions. The same goes for areas and property trends.”
Here are a few more juicy facts that the results revealed:
Infographics: PropertyFox
What's your favourite Instagrammed city or hood in South Africa? Share them with us on Facebook or Twitter.
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