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Cape Town - Freehold houses across Cape Town's City Bowl are hot property right now according to Seeff agents Michele Apperley and Talitha Finkay who say that these are now in short supply.
The cosmopolitan lifestyle with "high streets" and close communities is now highly sought after, but there is just not enough stock to meet the buyer demand.
The oversupply of stock in the City Bowl has largely now been sold and fewer new listings are coming onto the market, added the agents.
Seeff also provided an overview of what is happening in other areas outside of Cape Town.
Cape Agulhas
The coastal villages of the Cape Agulhas region, the southernmost point of the continent, are back in demand with buyers from across the globe who are again shopping for good value homes here according to Seeff’s agents for Arniston, Struisbaai, L’Agulhas and Suiderstrand.
Following a few flat years’ trade post 2008, buyer interest is again on the up. The average sales price for Arniston is also up to around R1.8m, about 50% more than in 2013 and buyers from Joburg to as far afield as Nelspruit are again investing in property here.
The close proximity to Cape Town (just over two hours’ drive), makes the area easily accessible for weekend, holiday and retirement home buyers, especially in view of the still affordable prices on offer, most still below R3m.
Hermanus
Residential and holiday home buyers have again flocked in their droves to the seaside resort town of Hermanus, according to Seeff.
Almost R1.3bn in property was transacted here last year, more than double that of five years ago. Sales volumes have also doubled to over 1 200 registrations for the year according to Reon van der Merwe, Seeff’s licensee for the area.
The market remains active. Seeff had its best month in May on top of 25 sales in just four months at Mariners Village alone as well as the sale of 24 vacant plots in just two months. The agency also clinched a top end sale of R21.25m for a 400 square meter house in Eastcliff right on the ocean.
Stock levels are down by up to 30% and there is almost nothing to buy below the R1.5m price mark, said van der Merwe. The busiest price band remains below the R3 million mark and there is still very low demand above R5m.
Jakkalsfontein
The beach houses of the Jakkalsfontein Nature Reserve on the West Coast is now hot property according to Cynthia Cousins, Seeff’s agent for the development.
The award-winning nature reserve with its own private 4km beach and sea views as far as Table Mountain is located just off the R27 between Yzerfontein and Grotto Bay, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town.
Aside from retirement and holiday home buyers, Seeff is now also seeing commuter buying and a rise in the demand for long-term rental homes. Over the last two years about ten properties have sold here to the value of almost R40m, most sold by the agent at prices ranging from R3m to R6m.
Property values have risen by about 40% to 60% over the last five years.
Wellington
When it comes to the countryside, the small town of Wellington, about an hour’s drive from Cape Town, hits just about every high note for winelands buyers according to Seeff agents, Marilize de Beer and Linda-Marie le Roux.
Despite its good infrastructure and close proximity to commercial centres such as Paarl, Stellenbosch and the city, it is still a quintessential country town with a laid-back lifestyle and affordable property prices.
Freehold houses start at about R1.25m and range on average to about R2.6m for a luxury four-bedroomed family home with a swimming pool recently sold by the agents.
There are also a number of security villages, many at affordable prices around the R800 000 to R1.2m price mark.
Although somewhat rare, there are also historic houses that sell for up to R3m. These are very popular, largely for their big plots and boreholes.
Gordons Bay
The coastal village of Gordons Bay is experiencing somewhat of a property boom right now according to Seeff agent Loryn Alberts. Market activity is up, prices are rising and buyers still looking for a good seaside buy should get into the market now or they may just miss the boat, she said.
Lightstone data for example shows that the 529 transactions worth almost R530m recorded for last year was almost double that of the period post-2007/2008.
"If we look at the market trend over the last five years, it is clear that it has shrugged most of its recession hangover, making steady year-on-year gains," said Alberts.
While the market is certainly looking up, prices are still about 40% below that of other coastal villages and the opportunity to find excellent value here, both for residential and holiday buying purposes, is outstanding according to Alberts.
Prices start at around R250 000 for a vacant plot and range to around R950 000 for sea views. Apartments sell for upwards of R400 000 for one bedroom and R600 000 for two bedrooms.
There are plenty of security complexes to choose from including townhouses that are still affordably priced from under R700 000 for three bedrooms.
Freehold houses start at around R900 000 and range to about R2.7m for a top end house. For a superior seaside location or the Harbour Island development, though you can expect to pay upwards of R2.2m for an apartment and R3 million for house.
