If property investors are hoping to buy in a good location in Camps Bay for under R10 million, then they have (for the time being) missed the boat.
That is the word from Rochelle Serman and Lyn Pope, Seeff agents for the area who say that it is now not just Clifton, Bantry Bay and Fresnaye that are attracting the multi-millionaires, but Camps Bay is catching up, and fast.
The entry level price is in the suburb currently stands at around R8.5m, some R2m up year-on-year from last year’s R6.5m. In reality though, there is now very little to buy below R10m.
“With 104 properties sold in the suburb for the 2015 year, activity was very similar to that of 2014 when 109 properties sold. What we have seen this year though, is that almost 20% of the 44-odd properties sold this year, were above the R20m price mark”.
“There has been a major shift in the market this year”, says Serman. “The high demand has outweighed the stock supply and this has moved the entry level price of an old freestanding home to a record-high of R8.5m”.
This in turn has created a push from the bottom upwards, increasing prices and sales over the R20m price mark and causing a shortage in quality stock in the R10m to R15m price band, say the agents.
“We see this reflected in the many web enquiries that we are currently receiving as well as the number of R20m sales already recorded for this year, most of which had been on the market for some time”.
This includes eight sales including two in Shanklin Crescent at R23m and R29.5m each, two in Geneva Drive, also at R23m and R29.5m each and a R28m sale in Sedgemoor and, there are more in the pipeline, say the agents.
The growth trend in the prices is clearly evident when you look at the Propstats data, add the agents.
As at July 2013, some 16 freehold house sales fell below the R10m price band. By July 2014, this had dropped to only 4. Then, to only 3 in July 2015 and this year, only two sales have been recorded below this price level.
Serman says, as is now typical for the suburb, buyers represent a wide demographic and come from across the globe, although there are now fewer younger people as they cannot afford to buy at an entry level of around R9m.
“We are still seeing plenty of relocations from Gauteng with at least two top end sales, R28m in Sedgemoor Road and R29.5m in Shanklin Crescent going to Gauteng buyers”.
“Locals are still trading up and down within the suburb and we are still seeing foreign buyers, predominantly from the UK and Europe. In fact, a recent trend has been a slight increase in buyer enquiries following Brexit”. Serman says that she for example recently had a British couple that flew out from the UK to view property with the objective of relocating here given the uncertainty around Brexit in the UK.
“We have also seen an uptick in web enquiries from expat buyers looking to either invest in the suburb with the view to perhaps returning at a later stage, while some are looking to relocate back quite soon”.
“Although demand is still high and prices are up, we would nonetheless caution sellers and buyers to be mindful of the current economic climate. Even though the local government elections’ outcomes have been very positive and well received and the rand has strengthened considerably over the last month or so, we are still in a downward economic cycle”.
“We are coming out of a quieter winter period, but that is in line with the historic trends, say the agents. We expect a good pick up over the coming summer months. When the sun comes out in the Cape and people flock to the Camps Bay beach and promenade, there is an inevitable uptick in demand”.
There are now only a few older properties on plots of 560sqm to 800sqm still available, priced between R8.5m and R9m. Vacant land though is rare and a 600sqm plot will set you back about R7.9m.
“For buyers, it is all about the location, lifestyle and views and that is why they are now prepared to pay well into the upper millions here”, says Serman.
Luxury apartments for example now range to just under R22m plus VAT for a new unit with luxury finishes and spectacular mountain and sea views and just under R30m for a four-bedroomed villa with fabulous finishes and spectacular sea views across Bali Bay and beyond.
