Property sales in the township of Soweto in Johannesburg are said to have grown and are poised for growth with property development initiatives.
This property in Diepkloof Soweto is selling for R850 000.
This famous and most populous black urban residential area in South Africa continues to undergo major changes and infrastructural improvements.
These initiatives aimed at moving the Soweto for its residential bias towards a normalised infrastructure and the expansion of retail trade in the area is helping the property market growth as a whole.
Seeff Properties reports an increase in property sales and activity in Soweto since opening its branch recently at the landmark retail node, Maponya Mall in Soweto.
According to Marvin Mtsweni, executive realtor and manager of Seeff Soweto, because of its size and population, Soweto is a city within a city and it presents a huge business and development opportunity for the property market.
“Soweto has a very vibrant property market,” says Mtsweni. “Looking at the multitude of backyard dwellers and current informal settlements still unresolved in Soweto, one can safely say that for the next 20 years or so, this market will continue to grow.”
He explains that the growing Soweto middle class is the driving force behind the growth of property sales in the area, in particular, a drive from the suburbs back to Soweto.
Many would-be home buyers find the banks’ stringent lending requirements a barrier to an otherwise vibrant property market. The banks require in most instances a 10 percent cash deposit. This together with a need for conveyancing costs places a huge burden on potential buyers, he says.
Asked about the popular suburbs in Soweto, he says these include Diepkloof Extension, Pimville and Dobsonville Extensions. Although popularly known, these suburbs are not necessarily the most active in property sales.
In Klipspruit Soweto, one can buy a property priced for R398 000.
Many sellers in these suburbs overprice their properties resulting in few people buying them as is the trend in many property markets.
A typical average home in these suburbs would be a three bedroom, two bathroom homes with a lounge, dining room and a fully fitted kitchen. A garage or even two is an additional feature and these homes are by comparison bigger and characterised by smaller stands.
“Buyers of homes in these suburbs are Sowetans themselves relocating within the suburb itself.”
Buyers could be from tenancy to ownership or upgrading from smaller to bigger homes. They are aged between 25 and 45 years old and are generally young couples, he says.
“Of all the suburbs in Soweto, Protea Glen had the highest number of property transfers in 2010 with buyers ranging from young to middle aged couples.”
Buyers including people working as nurses, teachers, police officers continue to choose Protea Glen as the ideal location to call home.
What attracts buyers in this location are the prices of properties on offer. These range from R300 000 for a 280 square metres two bedroom house to a bigger three bedroom and two bathroom home priced at R550 000.
“Affordability and availability are the two main drivers of property demand in Protea Glen.”
Mtsweni says Protea Glen is a huge relatively new and a growing part of Soweto. Developers are said to be fighting for available land to build more residential units and a few different housing developments are underway with plans for more in future.
Another driver of property growth and demand in this area is the shopping mall which is under construction at the moment.
The Protea Glen suburb is in demand in Soweto with properties that are reasonably priced. This property is priced is R450 000.
Seeff Properties is currently marketing a mixed-use development project called Orlando eKhaya. He says this is the City of Johannesburg’s former mayor Amos Masondo’s project launched in 2006.
Since its launch, some parts of the project have taken shape such as the extension of the Soweto Campus of the University of Johannesburg. Princeton Estate is the first of the residential parts of this project. The project will include 1 000 residential units, a shopping mall, a waterfront, an arena and other public facilities.
Princeton Estates will have 132 units on completion. These modern units will consists of two bedroom ground units measuring 64 square metres selling for R559 000, an upstairs two bedroom unit measuring 93 square metres with a loft room for R895 000.
All the unit prices in this complex include solar geysers and a 24-hour security and patrol is planned for the complex.
Soweto property market is poised for a huge growth into the future. A good, working partnership is essential and needed between all stakeholders to make this historic city the success it’s meant to be.
“Housing development in Soweto is going to be with us for some years to come and it is for all concerned to make it work in this beautiful melting pot of cultures.” – Denise Mhlanga
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