The South African residential property market has radically adjusted to tough economic conditions and land shortages over the past four years.
Steward notes that the latest FNB Property Barometer reveals that new residential stands which in 1970 to 1974 averaged just over 1 000 square metres dropped by 2010 to just over 500 square metres in size, meaning they have been literally halved in size on new developments.
This is according to Lanice Steward, managing director of Anne Porter Knight Frank.
She explains that a great deal has been said about homes being more realistically priced as sellers are becoming aware and react to current market conditions.
Steward notes that the latest FNB Property Barometer reveals that new residential stands, which in 1970 to 1974 averaged just over 1 000 square metres, dropped by 2010 to just over 500 square metres in size, meaning they have been literally halved in size on new developments.
Similarly, average building sizes have dropped from 203 square metres in 1970 to 1974 to 146 square metres in 2010 to the present and this figure is still declining.
Also affected have been the sectional title units where the average size of new units today is a mere 90 square metres, she says.
Steward explains that it has to be remembered that sectional title units have always been relatively compact – the bigger units with 160 square metres or more mostly date from the 1950s to 1960 era.
However, the FNB figures show that by 2000 to 2004 on new projects the average had in fact crept up to close on 130 square metres - the drop to 90 square metres is therefore significant, she says.
Another big change can be seen in the falloff in domestic quarters and swimming pools.
In 1955 to 1959, 50.5 percent of new houses had domestic quarters.
Since 2010, this figure has dropped to 11.5 percent. In 1980 to 1984, 40 percent of new houses had swimming pools, today the figure is down to 9.1 percent.
Garages are now more frequently seen as a luxury extra, she points out.
Since 2010 only 51.6 percent of new homes have been given these and this is 10 percent below the previous figure of 69.5 percent, says Steward.
She notes that there has also been a big decline in four bedroom homes and a big rise in two bedroom homes.
The good news from the property sector is that house prices are now beginning to stabilise in all the sought-after areas and banks are increasing the number of loans granted, she adds.
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