Small developers and syndicates are having an impact on the Phalaborwa property market, generating new housing stock that is affordable and of good quality.
The trend is gathering momentum and it opens up the market more widely to buyers who may have felt they had missed the Phalaborwa property bus following the recent boom, says Manie Kriel of leading local agency Homenet Phalaborwa.
"Phalaborwa property prices have risen steeply in recent years and the general slowdown of the property market lately appears to have done nothing to dent them. However, fresh buying opportunities are arising with the advent of a new breed of private developers in town. Local residents and syndicates are increasingly coming to the fore."
Kriel says stands in the town range from around 800sq m to 2000sq m and subdivisions can therefore comfortably accommodate homes of 150sq m to 200sq m.
"Building costs are still reasonable here, so homes developed privately in this way are priced very competitively. In one recent instance for example, a developer of 10 units – each with three bedrooms, a double garage and splash pool – put them on the market for R950k each, while similar properties in Johannesburg would fetch about R1,5m."
New opportunities for private developers will also arise from a recent council decision to make serviced land available for housing development in the centre of town. Prices for these 200 stands are expected to be about R300k apiece.
Kriel notes that private developers in the town are obliged to comply with strict building guidelines, and says that architects in the area are sensitive to the retention of the look and feel of the Phalaborwa community. "Together with the quality builders we have locally, this provides an end product that is typically of a high standard."
Buyers generally tend to be private owners, but there is plenty of potential for syndicates to acquire these properties as well, opening the way to extensive shared use as a weekend getaway to take advantage of Phalaborwa's position alongside the Kruger National Park.
"Looking to the immediate future, prospects for the market in general are excellent. Further impetus is expected to come from the transfer of the Kruger Park's administration to the town and the opening up of the giant 'Peace Park', which will combine the Kruger Park with reserves in Mozambique and Zimbabwe to create one single super-park, generating tourism and demand for property in the process."
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