The middle class Cape Town suburb of Goodwood with around 20 000 properties sited just 12 kilometre from the city centre, has become a high-demand precinct.
This three bedroom house in Goodwood offers a large lounge with wooden flooring, kitchen with granite tops and an entertainment area. It is on the market for R1.4 million - click here to view.
This is according to Lee Ross, the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for the area, who says turnover in his franchise is now 12 percent up on the same time last year and the vast majority of the homes that his team advertise each month are snapped up and signed for within two to four days, usually at or close to, the asking price.
“We are now definitely in a sellers’ market, and other agencies report much the same story. The situation seems common to everyone operating in this area. What is more, I cannot see signs of this changing in the near future,” says Ross,
He says the problem with a sellers’ market is that stock becomes harder to secure. To counter this, his agents now spend up to 40 percent of their time looking for new stock, with staff carrying out pamphlet blitzes at traffic lights and telecanvassing in the evenings.
“The ability to give a really accurate market valuation is a big help here, and with over 20 years operating in the area, his franchise has built up a reputation for being able to do this and provide certain other extra services,” he says.
This four bedroom house in Goodwood West offers a large open plan lounge, a dining room and modern fitted kitchen. It is on the market for R2.15 million - click here to view.
Ross says Goodwood’s big advantage, is its highly central position, being close to the city, Bellville and Century City. In addition, its prices are still affordable, even though by his calculations they rose by a staggering 12.5 percent in 2013.
He says the bulk of today’s sales are in the R900 000 to R1.5 million bracket. Many buyers are, however, willing to pay over R1.5 million and he has recently signed a deal for a home priced at R2.65 million, a near-record for this area.
“One of the results of the big demand in the area is that we have witnessed a steady improvement in the appearance and maintenance of Goodwood homes. Paintwork and plaster are not, as in the old days, neglected and the gardens are improving year-by-year. All this, of course, adds to the value of the homes there today,” says Ross.
This three bedroom house in Goodwood offers a large lounge with fireplace and a kitchen with laundry area. It is on the market for R870 000 - click here to view.
He says much the same bullish conditions are now evident in the rental market. Goodwood consists mainly of three and four bedroom freestanding homes and these now rent out for anything from R7 500 to R10 000 per month, again showing a rise of 10 percent to 12 percent year-on-year. This situation, he says, makes the area suitable for buy-to-let investors and some 12 percent of his sales are to people looking for property in this area for this purpose.
Ross says one of the most satisfying aspects of operating in residential property in the last few months, has been that a higher percentage of bond applications submitted to the banks are now being approved, and this includes a fair number of 100 percent bonds.
“I think we can see that the South African consumer seems to be more aware of the criteria on which these bonds are now awarded,” says Ross.
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