When leading town Benoni experienced a short supply of land, property developers' focus shifted to nearby Brakpan. Era Brink in Brakpan has been specialising in new developments in the area for the past 15 years and according to Angeline Van Tonder they have 13 new developments on the go, the most exciting coming in the form of Sunset Boulevard in the upmarket suburb of Sonneveld.
"It is the largest sectional title development in Brakpan with 236 units," she explains, "and phase one and two are sold out." In 2006 alone 357 sectional title transfers were made in Brakpan as compared to only 75 freehold transfers in the same period. This is testament to the level of demand for new secure complexes in the area.
Surprisingly, interest in older houses has not waned in the wake of the development boom. Homes in older parts such as Brakpan Central are still being bought by investors and refurbished to sell, rent out or live in. Bennie Nel, Principal of Homenet Brakpan also cites Brakpan Central as ideal for entry level buyers. At an average price of R550k buyers can get a two bedroom house perhaps needing some renovation.
Minnebron is also considered as a haven for first timers with new development units available from R450k upwards although most agents report that it would be difficult to find anything under R500k. Three years ago property prices realised in Brakpan Central and Minnebron were reportedly R180k to R200k and R200k upwards respectively showing incredibly healthy increases in value.
Anne Sinclair, area agent for Seeff Brakpan, warns that some sellers need to revise their prices though. With a surplus of stock, Brakpan is now a buyers market and homes are lingering on the market for much longer, also most prospective buyers are failing to qualify for financing for houses priced over R700k.
Brakpan has not fallen behind on catering for the upper end of the market. Sonneveld, Atlantis, Binne Oord, Dalpark ext 5 and Kenleaf are all enclosed suburbs commanding prices in the R1m and above bracket. Sonneveld seen as the most sought after of these areas has full title clusters going for between R1m and R3m. A record price was achieved in this suburb when a 800sq m, 4 bedroom home was sold for R3,5m.
Carnival City Casino, Mall at Carnival, Sherwood Gardens and a shopping complex in Dalview increase Brakpan's self-sufficiency and its proximity to arterial routes such as the N17 maintain its investment appeal. - Ntokozo Maseko
Readers' Comments
After reading the article I must agree that Brakpan is certainly a town that has picked up a great deal in the last 5 years when it comes to the property market.
I am currently the ward councillor for the Democratic alliance in ward 75 Brakpan and Springs and the Brakpan city centre falls under my ward.
According to my views the city centre of Brakpan can do with a make over,I am specifically referring to the business sector of Brakpan,Brakpan mall in Voortreker road is currently being occupied by Lone star steak house and a butchery I feel Ekurhuleni council can do a little bit more to return this mall back to its former glory.Unfortunately the days where we could go to the mall and be entertained by groups of artist and musicians seems to be a thing of the past,I am currently working with the Mayor and the city manager of Ekurhuleni in trying to get the mall back to what we had,I feel the business people of Brakpan will support Brakpan central town if we can get the municipality to render the services to them. - Clr Dean Stone
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