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The year 2011 has been called a milestone in which the country’s “brain drain” was firmly in reverse, with trends showing that fewer people were leaving SA shores, and many expats were returning home after living abroad.

Brigitte Britten-Kelly, the managing executive of an organisation called Homecoming Revolution, said “there are certainly fewer people emigrating, more South Africans coming home, and a more upbeat sentiment towards South Africa”.

Agreeing with analysts and industry players, Britten-Kelly said the allure of home soil had been heightened by global economic conditions.

“The turbulent economic conditions in European and US markets are making people re-assess where they want to be and often they choose to come home,” she said, adding: “Many people are realising that every country has its own set of problems, yet in SA you get to live a life not just of success, but of significance too.”

Property group Chas Everitt International said it was receiving several calls a month from expats planning to come home, for reasons including “political protests, financial upheavals and declining job opportunities across Europe and the US”.

Managing director Berry Everitt says in some cases it is purely for financial reasons.

“Some are trading on the fact that many SA companies are currently prepared to offer excellent packages to skilled expats.”

Properties most favoured by expats contemplating a return were lock-up-and-go homes in estates and security complexes, priced between R850 000 and R1.2 million.

Recent research by the World Economic Forum might also explain the optimism that experts say is on the rise.

Ranking

In September, the World Economic Forum’s global competitiveness index for 2011-2012 found that SA had improved its ranking by four positions to move into 50th place. This makes it the highest ranked country in sub- Saharan Africa, and the second-placed nation among the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and SA) countries.

According to FNB’s property market analyst, Ewald Kellerman, property sales resulting from emigration have reached their lowest mark since 2008, showing that the brain drain has slowed down.

The stats show that in 2008 emigration selling hit a high of 20 percent of all sales. By last year, it was down to 10 percent and this year it hit 4 percent.

For Ann Nurock, an advertising executive who was transferred to Toronto in 2008 and returned to SA two months ago, it was more a cultural issue. “I honestly think people don’t realise that, even with the big issues we face in SA, you don’t appreciate how good it is here until you leave,” she said.