According to Piet van der Merwe, the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for Hout Bay, most estate agents in Hout Bay have this year been experiencing a significant increase in the number of registered buyers. That coupled with the fact that stock is almost always in short supply means that any sensibly priced property could be sold within a matter of days.
“To illustrate this,” says van der Merwe, “we recently sold a one bedroom apartment in Princess Beach within three hours of being listed for sale. The property was listed at R885,000 and we managed to achieve a selling price of R895,000 (a full R10,000 more than the asking price).”
The really strong demand, said van der Merwe, is for anything priced under R3 million – the majority of Rawson Hout Bay’s buyers are local and from up-country, however from late November up until March there is a surge of foreign buyers who are often interested in Hout Bay.
On most homes, said van der Merwe, sales prices in the Hout Bay valley have risen by an average of 10% this past year.
Rentals, too, have been much in demand, again the only limitation being stock shortages. Typically a three or four bedroom home in one of the private estates will achieve rentals anywhere from R30,000 to R50,000 per month. The agent for Rawson Rentals in Hout Bay, Christine Conradie, recently negotiated a lease for R45,000 per month in Tierboskloof Estate. According to Conradie, the proximity to the Hout Bay International School and the large quantity of private security estates/gated communities, has made Hout Bay a choice destination for many corporate placements.
What are the reasons behind this huge demand?
Van der Merwe said that two factors are fuelling it. The first is that Hout Bay, despite price rises, is still the most affordable of all Cape Town’s Atlantic Seaboard suburbs within reasonable commuting distance of the CBD. The second, he said, is that the stunning natural beauty of the valley is complemented by a full range of amenities and services, excellent shops (including a new Pick ’n Pay, which is scheduled to open in December this year) and it also has several of Cape Town’s most popular restaurants.
