Construction on the first phase at Vanguard Residential Village, an Asrin and International Housing Solutions joint venture, started in September this year and they expect completion of this phase and handovers to begin in April next year, says Shiraaz Hassan, commercial director for Asrin.
The first phase is a mix of freestanding homes and sectional title apartments, and only 10% of the 135 units are still available for sale, he said.
“We expect to be fully sold out at phase one by the end of February 2014,” said Hassan. “This project continues to be the only lifestyle development available within the affordable segment in this area.”
Pam Golding Properties are handling the marketing of the project and they have a full time show office on site, he said.
A large percentage of the purchasers at Vanguard Village thus far have been first time homebuyers, said Hassan, and owner-occupiers make up a very high percentage of buyers here, which they prefer. The higher the number of owners in a scheme, experience shows, the better the properties are maintained and the conduct rules adhered to. Owners tend to want to create the best living environment for themselves, he said.
Units here are priced from R423 895 for a 45m² two bedroom apartment and R582 895 for a 60m² two bedroom house.
“Full sell-out of most new developments like these,” said Hassan, “tend to take slightly longer because of the large problem experienced by buyers in securing bonds. Although the demand is very high for affordable housing, the banks are extremely cautious, and we are finding that many buyers, who should be able to qualify for finance, are not successful in their bond applications.”
“A concern is that with the credit amnesty coming into effect, most banks have become “risk averse” in granting finance to first time owners , especially those applicants who benefited from the amnesty act,” he said. “The banks are dealing with a lot of “toxic debt” dating back to 2009, and the credit amnesty would just add to their woes. However, we approach challenges like these with absolute optimism, every application will be driven by our team until we have satisfied ourselves that all efforts have been exhausted in procuring the required end user funding.”
Asrin are not deterred by these factors and will work towards their goal of creating affordable housing opportunities in secure lifestyle developments, with no compromise on quality, said Hassan. “Sticking to the formula that we have been successful with for a long time makes sense, even if it seems challenging in the current economic climate.”
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