The new Life Sciences building, officially opened on August 3, is a flagship for science on the African continent, and is a landmark building for the Bellville area, its closest rival being the Vodacom building in Bellville central.
Housing the university’s six life sciences departments, and a number of globally recognised science institutes in one new state-of-the-art facility, it is not only attracting greater numbers of under and post-graduate students, but international collaborators as well.
There are an estimated 16,000 students at UWC and only about 4,000 are accommodated in university-supplied accommodation, off campus, or oppidian, but accommodation in the area remains scarce.
Mark Seale, director of Residential and Catering Services at UWC, said although the presence of the university has led to an “interest” in property, “student housing remains a challenge”.
But there are hopes that the construction of their R500m flagship building may have a knock-on effect for development.
“We believe that the positioning of the Life Sciences building right in front on Modderdam Road was a strategic move in the advancement of UWC not only academically but also to attract economically active forces into the area… The mere fact that UWC has articulated it's presence on the major link of Modderdam and Symphony Drive has created significant interest in property development in the area,” he said.
Estate agents who operate in the area say that gap in the market can be attributed to a number of reasons.
Seeff estate agent, Reuben Paries, said the recession and the high costs of building has deterred many developers from entering the market, and the introduction of the National Credit Act (NCA) has also made it particularly difficult for potential developers to acquire loans from banks.
“Banks are very risk averse and this is putting the big developers out of business,” he said.
“Developers are very nervous about entering the market because they don’t believe they can sell due to the high costs of building. The rate of return is no where near to what they expect,” he said.
Although many residents in the area have extended their homes in order to rent out accommodation to students, there has been “nothing substantial like huge property developments”, said Leon Fester, a Rawson estate agent.
A number of developments were planned for the area, but according to Paries, many of these had fallen through as developers had pulled out.
A big commercial unit with flats aimed for student housing at the corner of Kasselsvlei and Modderdam Road was planned but developers had pulled out last year.
Seale said that the lack of student housing in the area is being addressed by UWC. In October/November this year, the university will start construction of an 1800-bed housing facility for students.
Currently, the university has a 500-bed facility at Tygerberg Hospital and is housing 3,000 students both in university residences and off campus. About 150 families in Bellville and other surrounding suburbs have also accommodated students, said Seale.
But Seale said that “the challenge in this area for student housing is the market-related rentals demanded by landlords”.
Laurie Wener, MD for Pam Golding Properties (PGP) in the Western Cape metro area, said after a tough year in 2009, the first glimmers of activity are surfacing in Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs. “2009 was a particularly tough year for this region as they were very hard hit by banks’ tight lending criteria. Affordability is a key factor for typical buyers in this area, who include many first-time entrants to the market, among them young professionals and young married couples.
“This market was heavily prejudiced by the lack of availability of bond finance. But the good news is that with the slight easing of banks’ approach to lending in the latter part of the year, there has been a definite shift in market sentiment and affordability.”
PGP’s area manager for the Northern Suburbs, Maureen Nel, confirms that buyers and sellers are becoming noticeably more optimistic. “Our sales activity picked up during the months from October to December, with our agents concluding 19 sales totalling R20m in October alone.”
“This trend has continued into November and December, and we are confident that it will gain more momentum into 2010. Affordability remains a key issue, and buyers should know that it is still possible to obtain well-priced starter homes and apartments in the Northern Suburbs under the R1m mark. For example, our agents in Bellville have recently sold 10 properties priced at an average of R800k, and have more sales pending in the same price bracket. Similar bargains have been obtained in Durbanville, where our agents recently sold 24 properties at an average of R1,095m.”
Another notable recent sale has been that of the historic homestead “Merton House”, situated in Durbanville. The property dates back over 110 years, and is set on leafy grounds of close to 2,200sqm. It was sold to a local buyer for R3m.
Nel adds that there are also a wide variety of affordable properties for those seeking larger family homes. “The excellent reputations of our local schools continue to grow, with four of the government schools making the recent Sunday Times Top 100 list. We also now have a number of private schools offering high educational standards from pre-school to matric level. This means that families wanting a child-friendly lifestyle can relocate to the Northern Suburbs with confidence.
“The areas of Welgemoed, Plattekloof, Durbanville, Eversdal, Stellenberg and Kenridge are particularly popular with our family buyers as a result of their proximity to these schools. A prime example is our recent sale of a four-bedroomed family home in Everglen for R3,6m, located within walking distance of Fairmont High and two primary schools. Typically, houses in these areas range from R1,3m to over R4m.”
Another market segment enjoying increased activity levels in the Northern Suburbs is that of investments, who are taking advantage of the high demand for rental accommodation to invest in apartments which they then rent out. “We are seeing high demand for apartments in general, with competing offers on some properties leading to sales on or very close to the asking price,” says Nel.
The Northern Suburbs also have their share of luxury top-end homes, situated in Welgemoed, Durbanville and Plattekloof, where homes range from R4m to R20m. – Eugene Brink and Western Cape News
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