After a tough cycle,
agencies are reporting a slow return to glory for this popular holiday town
Unit sales in Plettenberg Bay are up by about 15 percent,
with more than 300 properties sold during 2012 compared to about 260 in 2011,
says Seeff principal Kevin Engelsman.
“We more than doubled our sales in the past year; selling 88 properties
worth a total of 170 million, compared to 42 units in the previous year. Although most properties sold in the town are
still in the sub-R4m price band, it was encouraging to note that some more
expensive properties were sold, at prices ranging from R15,5m to R23m, mostly
to Joburg holiday home buyers,” said Engelsman.
“Many of the holiday properties sold over the past year were
older home buyers intending renovating.
In particular, homes with sea views or near the beach have attracted
significant interest over the past year.”
There has also been renewed interest in vacant plots and
about 20 percent of all properties sold over the past the past year were vacant
land. The Whale Rock development plots,
which range in size from 1 021m² to 1
600m² and were released at discounted
rates of up to 65 percent towards December, sold out within five weeks. Engelsman says Seeff sold 24 of the available
33 stands at prices that ranged from R162 500 to R330 000. “Following a period of high price expectation
on the part of sellers, serious sellers became more amenable to pricing in line
with market demands last year. We expect
that holiday and investor buyers from Gauteng and other inland provinces will
continue to look for good value this year.
“Consequently, prices will remain flat.
It remains a buyers’ market and, especially in view of the flat economic
growth forecasted for 2013, sellers will need to continue to price
conservatively,” he said.
Cheryl Anley, of
RE/MAX Prime Properties, which operates in the Plettenberg Bay area, says
the demand for leisure property has remained fairly muted. However; now that the property market is well
into the recovery phase, demand for leisure properties has slowly started to
increase.
“Property sales in Plettenberg Bay were quiet for the first
half of last year, but there was an increase in activity in the second
half. Rentals have also been slow during
the year, which is fairly normal, but there was a good demand for the holiday
season.”
Sales and prices took a serious knock over the past three
years. The market is still recovering
and prices are still stabilizing, so it’s not advisable to buy property with
the idea of a quick turnover: However, there has been an increase in sales over
the past six months. We believe we are
close to the bottom of the property cycle and the situation will slowly improve
from here on,” said Anley.
“Plettenberg Bay buyers and renters are mostly families from
Johannesburg, Cape Town and the Free State, although there are some investors
wanting to buy property. Buyers are
looking for homes priced between R1.5m and R2m, and the most popular rental
properties cost between R2500 and R3500 a day during the high season.”
Anley said that secure estates and homes close to the beach
or with sea views were the most sought after, although price was playing a
large role and good buys were becoming more dominant than emotional
purchases. If the price was right,
buyers were prepared to upgrade their homes.
According to Pam Porter, principal for Jawitz Properties,
Plettenberg Bay, it has become easier for first-time buyers to get on to the
Plettenberg Bay property ladder. “Four
years ago, you could not buy a freehold house in Plett for under R1,5m, but now
buyers can pick up homes for as low as R1,2m” she said.
“More and more people are relocating to Plett. It has a great primary school, we are
attracting an increasing number of medical specialists and we’re also
anticipating the re-opening of the airport.
“There are considerably more freehold property than sectional title
sales in the area, and a wide range of properties are available. On any given street you can find a palatial
property neighboring older, smaller homes.
“Properties that are will priced sell well, although some sellers hold
out until they get their desired prices,” she said.
“Properties for sale under R4m, are most in demand, with 66
percent of freestanding property sales in 2012 falling in this price bracket –
almost double the number of buyers for this price range compared to 2011.”
However, 21 percent of freestanding sales were for over R8m,
and Jawitz Properties has been mandated to sell a home in Twin Rivers Estate
between the Bitou and Keurbooms rivers at R9,95m. The 649m²
property had a 32m² boat house and a
206m² patio space.
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