Some three to four hours from Gauteng, Bloemfontein and Durban, the village of Clarens in the Eastern Free State offers a secure country lifestyle which is attractive to home buyers of any age, and being not far from national highways, commuting back to the metros is do-able, says Anne Maree, Pam Golding Properties area principal.
“Through the first year of the pandemic and lockdowns, we saw three new restaurants open and had an exceptionally busy year from a property perspective, particularly as our internet coverage enables work-from-home, while many of our commercial properties and businesses have remained stable for the past 15-20 years, ours included.
“For our Gauteng home buyers, a unique characteristic and appealing feature is that our streets have no traffic lights, while our close proximity to Lesotho offers activities such as skiing, hiking, pony trekking and 4x4 adventures.
“Prices of residential properties here have been on the rise since 2014, and we have seen noticeable interest from buyers from within the province from other towns such as Welkom, Kroonstad, Bloemfontein, Frankfort, Ficksburg, QwaQwa and Bethlehem.
“Most of these buyers are looking for property in the R1 million to R2 million price bracket. We are also experiencing interest in Quillets residential development, with activity gaining momentum among purchasers from Bloemfontein and Gauteng. There’s also positive movement in the commercial market, mainly in the centre of the village.
The town comprises mostly freehold properties (94.5%), 20.7% of which are located in estates. Clarens has high appeal for the older homeowner, with 46% of recent buyers (February 2021 to January 2022) falling into the mature age band (50-64 years). This is a very stable housing market, with 61% of homeowners having owned their properties for 11 years or more.
Clarens has currently *22 new property listings according to Property24 Trends Data, with the average asking price for the area being R1.75 million. The average sale price per erf for 2021 was about R1.35 million, while Section Scheme Units for the same period is about R1.66 million.
The latest residential listings on Property24 show that three-bedroom homes are most widely available, at an average list price of R2.04 million. Sellers in the area fall within the 50-64-years or older (52%), while 42% of buyers also fall within the same age group.
Click here to see all the sale and listing price trends in Clarens
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*Property24 Listings Data Disclaimer: The trends detailed in this article are based on Property24 listings, current at the time of publishing, and property transfer data supplied by Deeds offices, which typically take 3-4 months to reflect. Suburbs are listed according to Property24's geographical database. In some areas this will include both commercial and residential properties. The age demographic data of buyers, sellers and stable owners is determined over a six-month period. These Property Values should not be used as a substitute for independent professional advice and is subject to Property24.com Terms and Conditions
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