The recently granted license for new mining activity near Mokopane in Limpopo is bound to give the town’s economy and property market a major boost as rights holder Ivanplats injects some R17 billion into its new operation.
This home offers two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a modern kitchen and single garage. It is on the market for R450 000 - click here here to view.This is according to Esther van der Merwe, principal of the local RealNet franchise, who says the license was awarded at the beginning of November 2014 to mine the platinum flat reef near Mokopane, and is effective for 30 years with the option of a further 30-year extension.
This follows hot on the heels of increased production at Anglo's massive Mogalakwena opencast mine 30km north-west of the town, and is excellent news for the town's recovering property market.
Van der Merwe says property prices have increased by 20% to 30% in the past year and transaction numbers started a sharp upward curve in August.
She says they are now expecting demand to increase even more once activity at Platreef commences and to be sustained in the longer term.
This house has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, three living areas, a braai space and garage. It is currently priced at R900 000 – click here to view.“And on the back of that, we are expecting a severe shortage of rental properties that will push rentals up even faster than they are rising at the moment.”
After the 2009 recession and the more recent mining strikes, she says many prospective sellers could not find buyers and were forced to offer their properties as rental units, but most of this stock has now been sold, just as the demand for rental units starts to rise too.
As it is, Van der Merwe says rentals currently range from around R4 500 per month for flats to R6 600 for three bedroom townhouses and up to R15 000 per month for luxury homes in popular suburbs such as Chroompark.
And as much as developers might like to take advantage of the current market trends, she says they can’t at the moment because of the instability in the local council and the resulting delays in the provision of new infrastructure.
This means that buy-to-let investors now have a golden opportunity to enter a market where rentals are on an upward trajectory and there is unlikely to be any shortage of tenants for the foreseeable future, she says.
But they should not delay, as many young people are now finding that it is actually cheaper to buy than to rent if they can qualify for a bond, and stock is being taken up at a rapid rate, she says.
Prices of properties suitable for letting, she says, start at around R550 000 to R600 000 for flats, R850 000 for three bedroom townhouses and R1.5 million for upmarket homes.
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