Constantiaberg property prices rising steadily

ALTHOUGH the rand continues to take a beating and the JSE has joined stock markets around the world in a downward slide, following US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s recent announcements of the likely moderation in US monetary policy stimulus, property sales figures in a number of Cape Town suburbs show an upward trajectory for the first half of this year.

This is according to Mike Greeff, chief executive of Greeff Properties, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate.

“Propstats figures for sales of free- standing and sectional title Constantiaberg properties for the first six months of 2013 show that the average selling price is up by 24.6 percent to R3.305 million from R2.652m – the average selling price for properties in the area during the first half of last year.

“The difference between the listed price and the selling price narrowed slightly in 2013 to minus 13.2 percent from minus 14.8 percent in 2012. The Propstats figures also show that during the first half of 2013 homes are on average spending 106 days being listed before selling, whereas in 2012 the average wait was 95 days.”

Greeff says that a focus on Constantia figures for the first six months of last year reveals that the average selling price was R6 894 444. The difference between listed and selling prices was minus 20.3 percent, with the number of days spent listed 218.

“The overall picture in Constantia has improved significantly in the first six months of 2013, though, with the average selling price rising to R7 569 167, a 9.8 percent improvement. The difference between listed and selling prices narrowed to minus 16.3 percent, and the average number of days listed dropped by seven weeks to 183 days,” Greeff says.

“Once again, it’s essential for sellers to price their homes correctly. Unrealistically priced homes are staying on the market for long periods and these statistics are taking the average days spent on the market into the hundreds.

“If you examine the details for Constantiaberg properties that spent 0 to 14 days listed before being sold in the first six months of 2013, there’s a clear correlation between pricing and speed of sale. For these transactions, the average difference between listed and selling prices is as low as minus 5.7 percent.”

Greeff says the sales figures for all types of property in the southern suburbs show a similar trajectory to the Constantiaberg statistics in the rise in average selling prices.

“In 2012 the average selling price was R2 016 345, and in the first six months of 2013 the average selling price is R2 328 002 – an increase of 15.45 percent.

On a slight downward trend is the difference between listed and selling prices. It is up slightly in 2013 to minus 10.2 percent, from minus 9.1 percent in the first half of 2012. The average number of days properties spent being listed during the first half of 2012 was 86 days and in the first half of 2013 this increased to 92 days.

“Our agents report a healthy amount of activity in the market in the southern suburbs and Constantiaberg. It remains to be seen how the latest financial tremors will affect the market, but it’s advisable to channel as much as you can into your bond now before the repo rate is adjusted. Experts are predicting a rise in 2014.”

QUICK SALE: This cottage in Wynberg Chelsea was recently sold by Greeff Properties in four days for the full listed price of R4.25 million.