Neighbourgood News: October 2020

Welcome to the Neighbourgood News!

A monthly newsletter filled with news from the Neighbourgood and our project’s on the go across South Africa.

Neighbourgood Cape Quarter

Our first location continues to perform exceptionally well with occupancy at 100% and arrears at zero. With country wide arrears in residential property sitting at close to 25% and vacancy at 11% we are happy with our results. 

As a next generation property development and management company we embrace the fact that we are in the business of customer service and hospitality. Both of these things have been largely absent from our industry for as long as I have ever known for the simple reason that physical space has always carried such a high value (both capital and rental) and so traditional landlords have historically never had to fight for business. Vacancies were low, escalation were high and cash was flowing. Alas that is no longer the case at all.

As the world continues to move online and as we shift our consumption and spending habits, the demand for our commodity no longer carries the value it once did and so we as property owners and managers need to do more and operate differently if we are to survive.

Below are 10 things we at Neighbourgood are doing differently as we build on the foundation we have created in the hope that we can create a better and more sustainable reflection of the future.

1. We offer all inclusive living & working spaces at prices discounted to market. In a post-covid market, we realise that outside of customer experience, we need to be creating real monetary saving's for our members and by implementing shared-economy principles, we are able to do that.
2. Whether you live or stay with Neighbourgood you need not spend unnecessary time traveling to and from your offices every morning and afternoon because at every location we have a collaborative co-work space available with commercial grade wifi and anything you might ever need including boardrooms, meeting rooms and of course great coffee!
3. All of our membership agreements are completely flexible. Whether you need a place for a week, a month or a year we have you covered.
4. We design our spaces to encourage community and connection between people. In a world where we live on our smart phones and loneliness is an epidemic on its own, this is a non negotiable for us.
5. We are big on hospitality! Our tenants are not just a once a month rental cheque for us as has been the case for most of the property industry in years gone by. Our tenants are our customers and carry a life time value to us. Hospitality is in our DNA and we will do everything we can to create as much value for our customers as possible.
6. We support local through our Neighbourgood loyalty app. We know that each and every neighbourhood is unique in it's make up and it is the stories behind the local businesses and people that make it special. With this in mind, we create brand collaborations on a per location and company wide level, with businesses we align with to offer our members more value and to support local businesses and their livelihoods. From discounted coffee to weekly wellness classes we are extending the living and working experience to so much more than just a functional studio unit or co-working office. We're taking what Discovery did for insurance, and we are doing it for the property industry.
7. We're building a network of Neighbourgood spaces across the country and our members can move between them. Live in Cape Town for 3 months, JHB for a year and Durban for the next, our members need not look outside of our brand to cover their living and working need's.
8. We are thinking about living and working in a multi generational context. We are not just a brand for young professionals. We believe the best and most sustainable spaces are those that are home the most diverse group of people. The common denominator of our spaces is not age or gender but rather our shared value's and the principles of inclusivity and diversity.
9. We're building technology that makes thing's easier. From accessing your membership agreement to paying your rental to redeeming your local area discounts with Neighbourgood local businesses we support everything will be done on our Neighbourgood APP and integrated website platform.
10. We are building some of the most sustainable spaces in South Africa. Designing and creating the the built environment of the future is something we take incredibly seriously. We have a responsibility as the next generation of conscious business men and woman to consider the way in which we are impacting the world around us for both our own generation and for those to come. On our journey as a company, we are going to do everything we can to leave the world a better place than we found it.

New Neighbourgood launches

Neighbourgood Green Point

Come November first, our Neighbourgood Green Point location will be officially open.

Set in the trendy suburb of Green Point Cape Town, on the door step of some of Cape Towns’s most iconic bars and restaurants, this Neighbourgood location is a co-living space designed for young professionals looking for a modern flexible living experience.

Walk down to Jason Bakery, grab a bagel from the Giovanni’s Deli, take a ride on one of our Neighbourgood bicycle’s around Cape Town stadium or down onto the Sea Point promenade, there’s not much about the neighbourhood not to like!

Best of all? You’re living in a community of like-minded people at a price that’s completely affordable from as little as R6500 per month per suite.

Neighbourgood Cape Quarter Co-Work Space

Post Covid budget is probably the most defining factor when it comes to choosing a workspace and so in collaboration with Tower Property Fund, we are launching a co work space at Cape Quarter with all the benefits and flexibility that come with a co work space but at a much better price.

From as little as R1800 per month you can become a Neighbourgood co work-member and enjoy the benefits that go with it.

New Locations Coming Soon

1. Neighbourgood Adderly Street
2. Neighbourgood Rivonia
3. Neighbourgood Sandton

Our outlook for the future

It’s been an exciting, event filled year for the neighbourgood team. Through all the chaos, we have remained focussed on getting the small thing’s right and in doing so we have maintained a lean operating model that has proved to be successful in one of the most difficult economies of our time. 

We will continue earning the trust of our members and landlord partners by creating value for them at every step of our relationship. 

In a world where everyone is looking at physical brick and mortar and wandering what the future looks like I leave you with the quote below from Danny Meyer, the Founder of Union Square Hospitality Group & Shake Shack. 

“Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.”

Until next month.

Murray