Historically known as a railway town, Malvern in Queensburgh, Durban, has gone from strength to strength and has become a popular and sought-after suburb especially among young professionals.
Jan Vermeulen, Seeff’s MD in Queensburgh, says a lot of the older homes in Malvern have been transformed into multi-million rand properties by renovating and extending the existing properties.
Malvern is following the trend of suburbs like Melville in Johannesburg and Observatory in the Cape Town, where older properties are renovated and extended to more modern homes, says Vermeulen.
Depending on the plot size of the property, new developments are also sometimes built on existing stands. These homes are becoming increasingly sought after by, especially, young professionals.
Malvern is also centrally located, close to schools and offers the community two shopping centres. It is only 15 minutes away from the Pavillion Shopping Centre and provides easy access to the N2 and N3 freeways to places of employment in Durban.
He says full title properties in Malvern cost between R1.35 million and R1.5 million and sectional title properties sell for between R1 million and R1.2 million.
There are also some large and upmarket homes listed for between R2 million and R 6.799 million.
“The higher the price, the smaller the buyer pool is. Homes in this price bracket are mansion-style larger homes of between 600 to 800sqm - much bigger than the average home in Queensburgh. Buyers often consist of doctors, lawyers and successful business owners, among others,” says Vermaulen.
“Selling prices in the Queensburgh are predicted to show great growth in the next five years as the area is expected to remain sought after, especially with new development complexes being in demand among younger generation.”
He says they have generally noted that a lot more first-time buyers are entering the market in Queensburgh.
“I believe that many people have recently decided to invest here because of factors like decreased fuel price, many people who have recently transferred from Gauteng to KZN and the fact that while Queensburgh is only 15 minutes away from Durban and Pinetown, properties here are much more affordable than in those areas.”
Vermeulen adds that prices in the greater Queensburgh area range from R520 000 for a two bedroom apartment or simplex, and from R800 000 for a three bedroom home.
“Anything under R1 million with good property offerings sells within a week. We have also noted many properties coming onto the market in the R1.3 million to R1.6 million bracket in the Malvern, Escombe and Northdene areas,” he says.
These homes generally have three bedrooms and two bathrooms - either with a granny flat or with the potential for creating one.
Vermeulen says on the rental side there is great demand for two and three bedroom properties in Queensburgh at monthly rentals from R5 500 up to R10 000 for larger, more modern units. “There has always been a great demand for rentals in Queensburgh, but stock is a problem - especially in the more affordable price range.”
Two and three bedroom simplexes with two bathroom units at rentals from R6 000 per month are in especially high demand, but there is definitely a shortage of these, as most stock coming in takes the form of apartments and duplexes with one bathroom.
“Families are looking for properties with a garden for the children to play in within a secure environment. There is also a great demand for rentals situated near shops and schools.”
He says another “hot item” on the list in Queensburgh at the moment is land. “There are great opportunities for new developments here, which is reflected in a large appetite for land of 1 000sqm and bigger - at prices from R500 000 to R2 million.”
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