Brackenfell, Kraaifontein, Durbanville and surrounding areas are still outperforming almost all other Cape Town suburbs in the property sector, and local agents are bullish about the Northern Suburbs’ prospects for 2019.
Three agents from Alexander Swart Property, Stefan Engelke, Marie Grant and Wian Ingram, share their perceptions of how 2019 will play out in the property sector, and how they plan to improve their performances this year.
All three agents were top award winners and had their best ever year in 2018, while the company itself increased its sales turnover by 50% in Durbanville and 30% in Brackenfell, Kraaifontein and other areas. All three also say they foresee 2019 being a better year than 2018 - one in which they will be able to raise their sales by a further 30% to 45%.
According to Grant, there is a steadily growing perception in the market that the political uncertainties of 2018 are less worrying now, and buyers feel that they no longer need to hold back and wait to see how the future will unfold.
“Realising that market conditions are still very much in favour of the buyer, many formerly hesitant buyers are now committing themselves to acquiring a new home this year,” says Grant.
This new confidence appears to be based on the expectation that the ruling political party will come through the May elections in a stronger position to continue the reforms from which South Africa is beginning to benefit - and the recent decision to hold interest rates at current levels has also generated confidence, says Engelke.
In the Brackenfell market, homes priced from R1 million to R2 million are still very much in demand - and it is in this market that buyers are most active, say Engelke and Ingram.
However there are clear indicators that, whereas previously the call was mainly for homes in the R1.2 million to R1.8 million price bracket, the demand has now broadened, and this year the agents anticipate selling more homes in the R1.8 million to R2.2 million range. Already, the agents say they are receiving numerous enquiries, and both are budgeting to raise their turnovers by at least 30% this year, for example, they are each expecting to sell two to three homes per month.
“Fewer than 24 sales each by the end of this year will be seen by us as failure,” says Ingram.
According to Grant, Durbanville’s future is also looking good as the area continues to see an influx of new arrivals, most looking for new homes in the R2 million to R3 million price range, but some still able to pay R5 million or more.
She says several buyers who bought from her two or three years ago are already planning to upgrade as their families expand. Grant, too, expects to raise her sales by 30% to 50%.
Looking at the general trends in the market, all three agents agree that today’s buyers tend to be less housebound than their parents were. They place the emphasis on lifestyle and getting away for weekends regularly, rather than on domestic activities. For this reason they want homes that can be locked and safely vacated for a few days, have small gardens and require minimal maintenance. They are ready to accept more compact homes, provided these are chic, have good quality finishes and, in many cases, are close to schools.
According to Lightstone, millennials, born between 1977 and 1994 and now buying a home for the first time, have to pay three times as much as those in the 40 to 60 year age group paid at the time of buying their first homes as a result of ongoing property price rises in the last two decades.
This also means that properties have to be smaller in order to suit their budget, says Ingram.
Summing up the opinions of these and other top performers at Alexander Swart, Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property, says the areas in which the company operates have proved to be the best performers in the Cape Town property market, and his “highly-motivated” team believe that in 2019 they will achieve another record year.
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