Dave Jones, Seeff KwaZulu-Natal’s Regional Relationship Manager, has lived in the Upper Highway area for 26 years and practised in the local real estate industry for 21 years. Every 6 months he produces a detailed analysis of market trends for the area. He says: “The latest analysis looks at figures for 2012, and highlights certain definite changes. For example, in 2011 the average selling time for a property was 210 days; in 2012 this halved to 105 days, which is evidence of correct pricing in the marketplace and the increasing professionalism of the real estate industry. However, Seeff Hillcrest, Kloof & Waterfall’s sole mandates are currently taking only 32 days to sell.”
Fully 77% of all sales of properties in the Upper Highway area in 2012 were in the under R2 million price bracket, with 56% of all sales in the R1–R1.5 million range. Another trend is that, in an area known for its extensive townhouse developments, freestanding houses outstripped sales of townhouses in 2012 as families moved in for access to the excellent local schools. Adds Jones: “The fastest selling segment in the area currently is houses in the R1-R1.5 million range, with buyers really shopping for value for money. Also, land sales, which have been poor over the past 5 years, have gained momentum – but 60% of land sales are below R500,000. In other words, cheaper land sells. And the news for sellers who say they want to ‘wait for the market to improve’ is that this is unlikely to occur within the next 2 years.”
Director of Seeff Hillcrest, Kloof & Waterfall, Gregg Wilson, says that the total Upper Highway market has 21 969 households in it with about 800-900 sales per year. “There are 30 estate agencies in this area, which means that average sales would be 26 properties a year. However, Seeff sold 133 of the 793 properties sold in the area in 2012, making us the market leaders in the Upper Highway with 16.8% of the market share. The months of June and July 2013 saw record sales in our office, the best months recorded since 2007 which was the height of the property boom. The strong performance in the Upper Highway area is echoed by equally impressive sales by Seeff Dolphin Coast in Ballito and Seeff Umhlanga, and the Seeff KZN group as a whole saw a 31% improvement in sales in the first half of 2013 compared to the same period last year.
“Over July to December 2012 the following buyer trends were evident in Upper Highway: houses in Kloof remain ever popular; estates in Hillcrest still feature strongly, including Plantations, Langford, Highmead and Camelot; houses priced between R1m and R1.6m in Assagay and Forest Hills are sought after; and Winston Park proved popular in terms of both land and house sales.”
Contact Seeff KZN Relationship Manager Dave Jones on 082 445 8771; email davejones@seeff.com; or Seeff Hillcrest, Kloof & Waterfall Director Gregg Wilson on 083 321 8500; email greggwilson@seeff.com
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