So say Dirk van Zuilekom, chairman of listing group Network Listings (NL) and principal of Homenet Wade & Quine, and Mike Bennett, NL director and managing director of ProProp.
Commenting on the back of the announcement that extensive rehabilitation work would begin on the roads in February this year, they say long-term benefits to residents and newcomers to the area will be significant.
Both, however, believe that the "untenable" traffic situation should never have been allowed to happen in the first place.
According to Bennett, Hillcrest's road infrastructure has not changed in six years, whereas the number of people living in the zone has increased by at "least 400%".
"Over the last few years, the authorities happily allowed the village of Hillcrest to expand, taking people's planning fees and levies but not putting anything into the infrastructure. As a result of massive new development and a steady influx of newcomers, roads like the M13, Old Main Road and Inanda Road are now worse than the centre of Durban during peak hour traffic," Van Zuilekom says.
Bennett also believes that the municipality should ban trucks from the M13, commonly known as Fields Hill. Alternatively, they should only allow trucks from 6:00 to 18:00 each day. His reasoning is that accidents caused by or involving trucks on this carriageway have increased dramatically in recent years, a situation exacerbated by the deterioration of the road surface and the increase in traffic volumes.
Further, he is adamant that the proposed freeway linking Waterfall to the Umhlanga Outer Ring Road should have been built prior to the upgrading of Old Main Road in Hillcrest. He says this would have been a much-needed alternative route for residents in the Inanda Road area traveling directly to and from the North Coast.
Controversy aside, the widening of the Upper Highway roads will unarguably and ultimately ease pressure on peak-time commuters. This, in turn, will ensure continuing upward growth of property values in the Upper Highway, already one of KwaZulu-Natal's most sought-after residential destinations, says Van Zuilekom.
In terms of general market activity, both Van Zuilekom and Bennett report that while demand for the area remains high, the ascendant interest rate and the National Credit Act (NCA) have undermined sales volumes. "The NCA has had a major impact in that a lot of potential buyers are considered financially over-extended in terms of the new legislation, which has stopped them from getting into the market," says Van Zuilekom.
Further, he reports a steady flow of North Coast residents to the Upper Highway. Their reasons for relocation include the desire to live in a more benign climate and to get away from holiday season crime.
Also heartening is that show house activity and response to adverts are up, he continues. "Surprisingly, there is also reasonable movement in the higher price bracket with sales of R6 million and even R7 million taking place on occasion."
Buyers at this level tend to be young, upwardly mobile executives from across the colour bar, he says.
Phase one of the roads rehabilitation programme undertaken by the City of eThekwini will extend from Crooked Road to Centenary Road, according to councilor Terence Palmer. This will see Old Main Road widened into two lanes in each carriageway with additional lanes at intersections to allow turning movements, he says.
It will also involve the re-construction of certain service and intersection roads and upgrades to various services.
For more information contact Dirk Van Zuilekom on 083 440 3988.
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