East London stands selling quickly
R70,000 plots near the airport are being snatched up
But turning farms into residential property could turn out to be a slow and grinding process
Coveridge, the R70,000-a-stand development close to East London’s airport, is off to a rollicking start.
Sixty stands have already been sold, with many more inquiries being made.
It is a developer’s dream, said developer Norman Belter, of East Coast Properties East London, who has been in the property industry for 20 years.
“We offer opportunities for affordable housing, close to the airport, and industrial areas.
“There is a massive demand and we are satisfying it,” he said.
Belter said threats of government’s still wavering “expropriation without payment” policy, land invasion, and illegal sales by “grabeneurs”, who sell stands to the naive without permission, were not a factor for Coveridge.
“The farm owner wanted a price, we did the numbers, it was fair value, so the deal is going ahead,” he said.
But Ronnie Coetzee, of Harcourts Mercantile, questioned Coveridge’s legal standing and the price.
He said they had a long way to go in terms of rezoning.
“This is undeveloped farm land without any services or decent access roads.
“The R70,000 is for land only. Servicing that land is [going to be] expensive.”
Similarly, turning farms into residential property was a slow and grinding process.
Where Belter and Coetzee do agree, however, is on the area’s future.
Coetzee said land west of the airport would be the next Mdantsane.
Harcourts Mercantile has houses at Riverwood Eco-Estate, with the entire infrastructure in place, starting at R617,485.
As far as Coveridge was concerned, services would cost more than the asking price, Coetzee said.
Coveridge buyers were expected to chip in for the sewage, security, and electricity, with the latter supplemented by solar geezers, which reduced demand by 25% to 35%.
The only water supply was rainwater harvesting
This is undeveloped farm land without any services or decent access roads. The R70,000 is for land only
– cheap, but problematic in times of drought.
In effect, the owners would own unserviced plots, then start paying the heavier costs.
Coveridge described it as “community funding”, which was not a buying aid scheme, but one where buyers put in the infrastructure.
Problematic, because getting all the owners, once transfers are through, to agree to every detail and cost of services is difficult.
Belter said buyers were aware of the offer, and he had a strong professional team that assured him it would be a smooth transition from farm to estate.
Belter said it was a new concept and that it would cut costs and save buyers money in the long run.
Rapid sales endorsed his views.
The first phase of Coveridge, 8.3ha, has nearly 157 proposed stands, all in the 400 square metre range, and priced from R70,000.
“Several buyers have taken two stands, so they can build bigger houses,” Belter said.
Phase Two was an even more ambitious undertaking, with 433 homes planned on 32ha of farmland.
While it is a “build your own home” scheme, there are rules ensuring quality, design, material and minimum size.
Every builder, employed by the property owner, must be a member of the National Homebuilders’ Building Registration Council.
Coveridge could be an estate of the future, with low entry costs, and buyers controlling the price of infrastructure.