The average time that properties currently spend on the Durban Upper Highway property market before being sold is 98 days, and the average difference between asking and selling price is 11.5%.
This Hillcrest home offers four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a fitted kitchen, an open plan study area, three lounges, a built-in braai, a double automated garage and swimming pool. It is currently on the market for R4.95 million – click here to view.This is according to Dave Jones, Regional Manager of Seeff KZN, who says looked at simply from a supply and demand point of view, the Upper Highway property market has seen 550 sales in the last six months, which represents an increase of 25% over the previous six months.
He says stock levels have also risen by 33%, but this is primarily due to availability of vacant stands in Cotswold Downs, which are now moving quickly. In fact, he says the stock level of houses and townhouses has remained constant, at approximately 400 units in total.
The top five most popular suburbs in the Upper Highway, in terms of sales that have been concluded, although not necessarily registered in the Deeds Office yet, are as follows, in descending order: Hillcrest at approximately 540 units per annum, Kloof at approximately 278 units per annum, Waterfall at approximately 190 units per annum, Gillitts at approximately 185 units per annum and Shongweni at approximately 156 units per annum, says Jones.
“It should be noted that the Shongweni, adjacent to Summerveld, is the next node for development, both residential and commercial.”
Situated in Kloof, this house has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a modern kitchen, two lounges, a tennis court and garaging for two cars. It is priced at R3.7 million – click here to view.According to Jones, the average sale price in the area per unit is approximately R1.7 million.
Currently, the top three price segments in the Upper Highway with regard to sales are houses between R1 million to R1.499 million, at 11.7 units per month, houses between R1.5 million to R1.999 million, also at 11.7 units per month, and houses between R2 million to R3 million at 10.7 units per month.
He says this is the first time in the Upper Highway property market that townhouses have not featured in the top three price segments of sales.
In terms of patterns of sales in the area, Jones says 91.5% were of properties priced below R3 million, 75% were of properties priced below R2 million and 58% were of properties priced below R1.5 million.
He says it appears that the sales of townhouses priced over R3 million have slowed, but many of the land sales in Cotswold Downs will result in products with an average price of around R3.5 million to R6 million once completed.
This townhouse offers four bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a kitchen, home office, lounge with gas fireplace, braai room and garaging for two vehicles. It is on the market for R3.1 million – click here to view.The most expensive townhouse to be sold was priced at R7.44 million and situated in Kirtlington in Hillcrest, he says.
“The most expensive house to be sold fetched R9.75 million and was situated in Everton. The soon to be completed Watercrest Mall in Waterfall will see the Waterfall/Crestholme and Forest Hills areas increase in price as demand lifts.”
Jones says the main reasons that people buy in the Upper Highway area are the availability of a choice of excellent schools, relative value for money for prime property, the presence of a strong retiree market and the lifestyle which, despite the growth, is still outdoors-based, with leisure activities such as cycling, horse riding and road running.
The move to leisure activities is seen in the increasing popularity of the Cotswold Downs Estate, where over 600 of the available 750 sites have now been sold.
He says they have also seen record price barriers being broken in the Stoneford Equestrian Estate in Alverstone, where two properties in the process of being built have exceeded R20 million in value for each individual home.
Situated in Forest Hills, this house offers four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen with breakfast nook, a fitted bar, swimming pool, staff accommodation, three carports and two garages. It is currently priced at R2.25 million – click here to view.Jones says developers have approval to build a total of approximately 1 200 units in the Upper Highway area in the next 18 months, at price ranges starting at R790 000 and move up to R 2.7 million.
This is great news for first-time home buyers, many of whom are currently renting, he says. If you link this trend to the banks which are showing an increasing appetite to lend, especially to those buying homes priced under R1.5 million, this increases the confidence level in the area, he says.
Jones shares some words of advice for those looking to sell their homes:
- If your home is going to sell at the best price, it needs to come on the market at the right asking price.
- Study the market information carefully, especially the availability of stock or ‘competitors’ in your home price category.
- Call for a professional written valuation from your agent, and ask them for a written marketing plan for your home with specific actions of service delivery.
- Call for your selected agency’s track record in terms of sales, and ask to see their advertising profile and average weekly show house visibility. Also check your selected agency’s online visibility.
