Residential as well as rental properties in Polokwane are in demand and even properties that have languished in the market for years are now being taken up.
This five bedroom house in African Jewel, Polokwane offers parking for four cars. It is on the market for R874 000 - click here to view.
This is according to Maryna van der Merwe, owner of the local RealNet franchise, who says January sales were 300 percent higher than sales in the same month of last year, giving the agency its best result for the current financial year.
She says family homes in the popular R800 000 to R1.2 million price range are scarce at the moment and homes that were being rented out because their owners could not sell them are now attracting offers. "Even properties in the upper price ranges are now selling. For instance, we have just sold a house that had been on the market for six years at R2 million, to a cash buyer for R1.85 million."
The rental market has taken off at the same time thanks to a strong inflow of employees at the Venetia mine near Alldays, she says, even though these employees face a four-hour round trip to commute to work on a daily basis.
“They are settling their families in Polokwane rather than in Alldays because of better shopping and medical facilities and so that their children can attend city schools.”
This five bedroom house in Bendor, Polokwane offers three living areas and an alarm system. It is on the market for R1.31 million - click here to view.
Family homes with monthly rentals of between R6 000 and R7 000 are snapped up as soon as they become available, she says. "Employers usually pay for rental accommodation as part of contractors' packages but, many people opt for bigger units at higher prices and supplement rentals out of their own pockets," says Van der Merwe. “We consequently see demand for homes with monthly rentals of up to R10 000 among contractors.”
In spite of the surge in demand, rentals are still lower than most owners' monthly bond repayments at this stage, she says.
“However, investors can probably look forward to healthy rental growth since lack of infrastructure has temporarily put a hold on any new development in the city and the continued demand will likely put upward pressure on rentals.”
Van der Merwe says she does not expect the recent hike in interest rates to dampen local demand, although affordability is definitely still a strong consideration. “What we expect to happen is for buyers to set their sights slightly lower to ensure the properties they target are within their budget.”
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