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Residential rentals for some estate agencies in the Helderberg have increased dramatically in the face of decreased property sales, says Xinglo Estates principal Monica du Toit, whose business celebrated its fourth anniversary at the end of February.

Commercial property purchases and sales, which make up a small portion of the business that focuses on Somerset West, have also been "lively", says Du Toit.

There's no denying that the past four years have been tough for the small agency in Main Road. It opened at a time when the property market was booming, but has with many other of its peers felt the pinch as the property market cooled. In addition, the industry itself has faced numerous legislative challenges.

"We all would do a lot better if [the authorities] stopped changing the rules," says Du Toit's business partner Riaan Burger.

Among these changes have been the new Credit Act, rules pertaining to signage and attempts by government to institute stiffer industry standards for estate agents.

While many of these changes have been welcomed, smaller agencies have found the regulations just too onerous and many have closed down as a result.

In Xinglo's case, it means that even though some regulations only have a marginal effect, they are still required to keep up to date with the changes.

Du Toit uses the Credit Act as an example. "This hasn't really affected us. We haven't lost a sale as a result of its implementation."

She attributes it to Somerset West attracting many rich buyers who aren't affected by interest rates and credit ratings, because they don't need to take a loan to buy a house. They pay in cash.

Attracting these types of customers however is not easy when you're up against larger competitors eager to tuck into the town's stock of houses, few of which are priced below R1-million. In addition, there's only a very limited pool of experienced estate agents from which to recruit.

"In the northern suburbs of Cape Town for example, there's a pool of thousands of estate agents. But in the Helderberg it's limited," says Du Toit.

On the other hand, she says the local agencies generally have good relationships - a rarity in the current cut-throat property environment in many regions across SA.

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