New suburb for Tzaneen

Only 32km from Tzaneen, a new residential suburb will be launching in the Letsitele farming community once approval has been granted by the local authorities, which will help resolve the intense demand for affordable property.


Only 32km from Tzaneen, the Letsitele farming community is the country's largest citrus producer.

It's here, among the vast orchards, that Realty 1 International Property Group in Tzaneen will be launching a new residential suburb once approval has been granted by the local authorities says franchise principal Pieter Human, adding that the new Letsitele Extension Development will help resolve intense demand for affordable property.

According to Human, the development will comprise 321 residential plots which are likely to be quickly snapped up as a result of their competitive pricing. First phase full title stands will sell at an entry level price of R200 000, with top end prices per plot being R275 000. This pricing structure presents good value for money in an area where freestanding houses in town have doubled in the last year. An entry level house now carries a price tag of R800 000 and the average three bedroom home on a 1200 square metre stand now costs around R1,3 million, he says. Basic two-bedroom townhouses with single bathroom facilities and no garages are being marketed for R525 000. At the top end of the market, house price growth has also been strong, with selling prices of R3 million no longer uncommon.

Making the most of the area's demand for residential property is a growing number of home owners who are subdividing their properties. Human says it is becoming increasingly popular among owners of large stands to sell cut-off plots of 500 square meters for as much as R295 000 each. "Sellers, however, need to beware that buyers are more and more cautious of paying full asking prices and will only enter into price negotiations after doing thorough market research," he warns.

Land claims in and around Tzaneen, which is the second largest town in the Limpopo Province, have impacted heavily on its agricultural real estate sector, continues Human. "Smallholdings with established fruit and nut farming infrastructures, for which the area is well-known, are few and far between, largely because so many are subject to claims. As a result, there is high demand for unclaimed land." This demand, coupled with limited stock availability, has resulted in smallholdings achieving selling prices of up to R2, 5 million, unparalleled for the area.

Human expects Tzaneen's strong upward economic growth to remain stable, with property values growing healthily but not as dramatically as has been the case over the last 24 months. "We have undoubtedly entered a buyers' market. Sellers therefore need to establish market-related asking prices with the assistance of informed estate agents in order to avoid being disappointed during the marketing process of their properties," he advises.

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