A typical home being built at the The Avenues.
An agent from the Rawson Property Group’s Hermanus franchise, Cindy Rowe, now in her fourth year with this franchise, has been mandated by a property developer to sell approximately 60 plot and plan residential opportunities in three developments west of Sandbaai and east of Onrus River.
“Several factors,” said Rowe this week, “make any buy here a worthwhile investment, but probably the two most relevant are their prices, which are low by any standards, and their position, which is exceptionally convenient — within 5km of the centre of Hermanus and 200 metres walking distance of the Curro Private School. The developments are also close to good retail facilities.”
The three developments are known respectively as Sundew Villas (on 46,993 m2), Sandy Dunes (on 8,689 m2) and The Avenues (on 36,801 m2). Homes in the development conform to certain architectural guidelines which make Cape Vernacular features mandatory. However, there has been a fair amount of leniency in the interpretation of these rules and although the designs have very obvious harmony they are not completely uniform.
In the homes that are now being sold by the Rawson Property Group, plot sizes vary from 200 m2 to 300 m2, with some of the homes being freestanding and others semi-detached. Floor sizes are from 118 m2 to 148 m2. Buyers are offered two or three bedrooms, but every home has two bathrooms and a single garage, with ample space for extra parking.
Each new home will be fitted out with the necessary systems to make load shedding a thing of the past. The developers are wiring the homes so that each room has a separate electrical circuit fed directly off the electrical distribution board.
When the electricity goes down the system will automatically revert to battery power and the owner’s lights, TV, DSTV and computers will not be affected by the loss of power. Sufficient capacity has been included in the system to continue to feed power to the house for about 2.5 hours – the typical load shedding time period.
All the gated estates have large communal areas set aside for landscaped gardens, walking trails and a swimming pool. All three estates are also both pet and child friendly. The estates will be surrounded by security walls and will have electronically controlled gates limiting entry and exit but they will link in comfortably with each other.
Rowe said that prices right now vary from R1,050,000 for a two bedroom, two bathroom house with 103 m2 floor area to R1,290,000 for a three bedroom, two bathroom home with 137 m2 floor area. A third option at R1,190,000 for a three bedroom home is also offered.
The contractual terms stipulate that a 10% deposit has to be paid on signing and the remainder in effect to be paid on transfer, although the customer buys the plot first and the home second. At the moment three homes are being built in two of the estates, sometimes ahead of orders, but the developers have undertaken on any signed contract to give transfer within seven months.
Rowe said that gated estates have proved to be the front runners as regards capital appreciation in the Hermanus property scene and Sundew Villas, Sandy Dunes and The Avenues, she predicts with complete confidence, will appreciate by 8 to 10% per annum from the time the contracts are signed.
“The surprising element about these projects is that although they are excellent, they have thus far adopted a very low profile,” said Rowe. “However, judging by the flow of enquiries coming to us, it would appear that there is a new awareness in the market about the excellent value the homes in these developments can offer and I think it is likely that by the end of this year we will have sold at least 15 units.”
