Spring is here, and the first week of September saw the Seeff Hillcrest, Kloof & Waterfall office conclude nine transactions totalling over R35 million. In what has been reported to be a heavily contracted market, Durban’s Upper Highway area continues to fare better than most, for a number of reasons.
This is according to Michele Wilson, co-director of Seeff in this area, who says the context of this strong positive start to September needs to be understood through reliable information on market trends in the area.
“The underlying and continual development in the area lays the foundation for healthy sales activity. This development is broad-based and includes the renewal and renovation of all of our local shopping centres, as well as the now settled new Watercrest Mall,” says Wilson.
“The area is known for its excellent schooling options, and adding to the pull has been the emergence of five new schools in the past three years. A number of top-brand motor car dealerships are established in the area, with the Nissan brand due to move into the Old Main Road shortly. Developers have also targeted the area, and the 508-unit Emberton Estate and the first phase of Cotswold Fens are aimed at a more affordable market.”
Fellow co-director of Seeff Hillcrest, Kloof & Waterfall, Gregg Wilson, points out that the area offers excellent value for money compared to Durban North, Umhlanga and Ballito, and says there is definitely a move towards a slight buyers’ market in the area.
He adds that 84% of buyers in the area target properties priced below R3 million, with 76% of all buyers looking below R2 million.
“This means that properties in the higher-priced brackets are attracting less attention than previously. Our advice to sellers is to ask specific questions of their agents in terms of price category when deciding on the correct asking price for their property. For example, for freestanding houses priced between R2 million and R3 million the market currently carries 123 items of stock, with sales at a pace of 7.6 units per month. It is clear from this that unless a seller prices their property in the top 20, it will remain on the market for a long time,” he says.
“It is in every seller’s interest not to be on the market for longer than three months..”
He says the three top-selling items in the area are all freestanding homes priced below R3 million, which is a completely new trend, and squashes the popular belief that everyone is buying townhouses.
“Our prime buyers are families, with the buyer age group being 30 to 45 years. In short, they are bringing their children to good schools.”
He says current examples of superb value in the area include a Winston Park property recently sold at R5.2 million for a 727sqm immaculately renovated home on a level acre. At the lower price range of under-R2 million, a property in Hillcrest sold at R1.995 million offered four bedrooms and a modern renovation situated on a half-acre. Both of these are close to excellent schools.
“If we move to current properties on the market, there is a stunning six bedroom, five bathroom and four lounge Tuscan townhouse with high-end finishes in Hillcrest central which is on the market for R6.2 million. The most popular price category is freestanding houses between R1.5 million and R2 million, which sell at a rate of 13.5 homes per month. We currently hold 62 items of stock in this band,” he says.
“There is the obvious caution to sellers about correct pricing, but in terms of overall sentiment the residential property market in the Upper Highway area is operating on a cautiously optimistic trend of consistent sales at a slightly reduced level than in 2017.”
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