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Home Prices Up Almost 12 Percent In Cape Town, Above Average In Durban, PE

Home Prices Up Almost 12 Percent In Cape Town, Above Average In Durban, PE

Despite an overall 2016 slowdown in South African home values, the three coastal areas of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban continue to outperform interior metro markets.

Cape Town is by far the strongest metro housing market, but Port Elizabeth and Durban also showed growth in 2016, according to Andrew Golding, CEO of the Pam Golding Property group.

Home prices in the Cape Town area increased an average of 11.5 percent in 2016, while Port Elizabeth and Durban’s house price inflation averaged 7.2 percent and 6.8 percent, according to the Lightstone house price index.

From Business Tech.

In South Africa’s residential property market, house price inflation averaged 4.88 percent in 2016.

“We believe that market growth will become increasingly concentrated in hot spots which continue to experience high demand for a variety of factors, including convenient access to the metros or economic hubs, value for money, and as desirable and secure lifestyle locations,” Golding said.

“Apart from the ongoing activity along the Cape coast, the Garden Route areas from Mossel Bay through to Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are experiencing heightened demand for homes, mainly among domestic buyers making a lifestyle choice to relocate.”

Sandra Gordon, Pam Golding Properties senior research analyst, said the Eastern Cape region is an area to watch, attracting buyers who want a coastal lifestyle combined with good governance and value for money homes.

“With considerable investment in Coega and new nodes springing up, we may see this region developing and playing catch-up with the Western Cape and KZN North Coast areas.”

The Coega Industrial Development Zone is located near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province.

Golding said that Port Elizabeth is increasingly coming into its own on the back of ongoing investment in the city’s western areas and development around Coega IDZ, with residential property prices set for significant growth, particularly as people look to move from other provinces and cities to nodes or areas they perceive as well managed, safe havens.

In KwaZulu-Natal the strongest activity remains along the highly sought after North Coast strip from Durban through to Ballito which is popular among investors and end-users alike. Upmarket areas such as uMhlanga and Sibaya will continue to be high growth areas, he said.

Carol Reynolds, Pam Golding Properties area principal for Durban Coastal, said development in these areas is enormous, and this is a strong indicator of confidence in these suburbs.

“We foresee house prices increasing year-on-year in both uMhlanga and Sibaya and while some have cautioned against over-supply, the range of products is diverse, appealing to a spectrum of buyers from investors to retirees, executives and families.

“Durban’s North and South Beach areas, including The Point have increased in popularity, firstly as a result of the general upgrade to the Promenade and again due to their huge value for money, particularly when compared to other prime beachfront locations nationally and globally. Investors are starting to snap up the well-positioned units and renovating them with the expectation that the area is going to become highly sought after in the next few years,” Reynolds said.

Property is increasingly being seen as a secure investment in uncertain times, Reynolds said.

Read more at Business Tech.