KZN storms' affect on property

While storm damage to property, beaches, roads, and water and sewage infrastructure along parts of KwaZulu-Natal's north and south coasts is likely to run to millions of rands, local real estate practitioners remain upbeat about long-term demand for sea-fronting homes.

Hardest hit by the freak spring tidal waves were popular holiday areas such as Ballito, Umdloti and Umhlanga on the north coast, and Amanzimtoti and Margate on the south coast, which are now the scenes of frantic mopping-up efforts ahead of the Easter Weekend. Local authorities are also working around the clock to effect repairs to ruined water and sewage works, says Neil Swartz of Neil Swartz Estates (including Trafalgar Residential Sales). Anticipating a period of disruption in the wake of the storm, which washed away large chunks of popular bathing beaches and coastal properties, Swartz said that once the cleaning up was done and the affected areas rebuilt, the market would in all likelihood settle down again. "Most people accept that the chaos was the result of a rare combination of exceptionally high tides and the aligning of various terrestrial bodies, something that is not likely to happen again in a long time," he said.

John Brink, managing director of the Brink Property Group, said he had heard that prices of properties on or very close to the sea had dropped as a result of the damage caused by the storms. As a result, he expected people to be nervous for "quite a while" in terms of buying or building properties on the immediate coastline.

Remax Ballito franchisee owner John Pechey was also extremely positive, despite severe damage to buildings and the local infrastructure. Insurance payouts would make it possible for most affected property owners to recoup their material losses, he said. He added that once the repairs were complete, prices of on-the-coast properties were likely to start rising again.

He was upbeat, too, about the fact that the damaged Ballito promenade would now have to be revamped. "It has been rundown and tired for a long time, as well as fraught with criminal activity. Now it has to be upgraded and one hopes that the improvements will not only be aesthetically pleasing but will also address security issues, which have long beleaguered the area."

He added: "The authorities and role players will be able to factor in far more stringent security protection in the new construction as they build something better than what has been lost."

Once the initial panic had subsided and rebuilding was well on track, Ballito would become a sought-after area again, especially if it was able to secure blue flag status for its beaches, Pechey said. Undoubtedly some opportunists would try and jump on the bandwagon by offering low prices for beachfront properties while the community was still reeling from the disaster but everything would in time settle down, he beleived. Pointing out that the loss of Ballito's beach front was not the end of the world for holiday makers, Pechey said the area offered a wide range of other activities, not least of all nature reserves and the Sibaya Casino in Umdloti. It was also close enough for holiday makers to travel to other nearby beaches that had been relatively unaffected by the storms.

After on-site visits to Umdloti, Umhlanga and Ballito, Pat Acutt, chairman of Acutts Estate Agents, said the storms had impacted significantly on everyone, not only holiday makers and resident home owners but even nature itself. Damage was far worse than he had expected, not only with regard to properties and furnishings but also the Umhlanga and Umdloti Lagoons, which were badly silted up. He also pointed out that the protected Mangrove Swamps had been seriously harmed. "The return to normalcy is going to have enormous money, time and material cost implications. It's going to be a mammoth undertaking with a high degree of hidden costs," he said. But, he continued, the effect on demand for sea-facing real estate was likely to be minimal in the long-run since people would probably take extra-ordinary preventative measures to enhance their safety and that of their assets going forward. Apart from the one reported and deeply regretted fatality and the injuries sustained by a number of people, the situation was a short-term hassle factor more than anything else, he said. He concluded by saying that the resultant reconstruction was a welcome opportunity to redesign and accordingly safeguard against future disasters of this nature. – Ingrid Smit

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