That's the word from Leonora Swart and Simon John Smith, principals of the Homenet offices in East Rand town, who say that while prices are down 10% to 15%, the demand for residential property is being sustained by employees of the many industrial concerns in Germiston and neighbouring Wadeville.
The relative buoyancy of the local market, Swart says, is also being boosted by the fact that cash buyers are also quite plentiful in the under-R800k price range, with much of the demand stemming from "black diamonds" who want to move out of the townships but do not want to live too far from work.
First-time buyers and investors are also being attracted to Germiston from across the Witwatersrand.
Buy-to-let investors in the area are letting their properties for between R2,500 and R7k pm.
Meanwhile, commercial investment in the area continues relatively unabated. A number of large mixed-use developments have been constructed recently and a new government hospital is due to be completed towards the end of the year, when hospital staff seeking accommodation close to their place of work will give the surrounding market another boost.
Already completed is a new retirement home which, says Smith, is the first of its kind in Germiston and a welcome addition as senior citizens previously had no choice but to leave the town to retire. Units in the home are selling from R650k.
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