So says Tristan MacLennan, manager of Greeff Properties' new City Bowl branch, who adds that apartments as low as R600k in value, and homes with a value of R20m plus, are readily available in the area.
His says there are now clear indications that residential property in the City Bowl/Higgovale/Tamboerskloof/Oranjezicht area is about to enter a really positive phase, with genuine growth taking place from 2010 onwards.
MacLennan said prices in the City Bowl are now stabilising.
"Over the last 18 months the price drops here have been minimal in relation to those of most other areas. They have fallen only 3% in the central City Bowl and 7% in Vredehoek - and in the last few months they have not fallen at all."
The reasons for this, said MacLennan, are that demand for City Bowl homes is at an all time high because Capetonians are "totally fed up with the time spent in commuter traffic jams and simply will not put up with that situation any longer".
Furthermore, he said, the number of buyers who actually have to sell in this precinct is limited.
"In some other areas, e.g. Table View, a high percentage of the homes on the market are there because of bond payment difficulties. Here, in the City Bowl, that has not been such a problem - we seem to be able to attract and hold onto affluent buyers, many of whom in recent years have upgraded. About 20% of City Bowl homes have been improved in the last decade."
Plots, said MacLennan, are in great demand and are priced high, e.g. R7,5m for a 1,025sq m erf in Higgovale.
Bernice Musikanth from Seeff City Bowl says costs of travel plus time factors play a big role here. "First of all, the cost of petrol, and also your time is money. People don't want to travel an hour and a half into work. If you live in the City Bowl your whole lifestyle changes. You no longer have to get up at 6:00 – you can crawl out of bed at 8:00 and just roll down the hill and you are at work!
"We are selling to a lot of young professionals – and also to parents who are buying for their children.
"We sold a property in Higgovale for just under R6m, to a South African couple returning from Japan. They first saw it on the Internet, came here, looked at everything we could show them, and then bought the one they had first seen on the Internet.
"We found that most buyers are Capetonians who are upgrading - they may have sold in a different area and want to move closer to town," she concludes. – Eugene Brink
For more information contact Tristan MacLennan on 021 426 4848.
Readers' Comments Have a comment about this article? Email us now.
Print
