Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Demand for luxury keeps raising price bar
DEMAND is up for properties in Atlantic seaboard suburbs such as Clifton, Bantry Bay, Fresnaye and Camps Bay, and these areas continue to raise the price that buyers are prepared to pay for luxury homes, says Seeff agent, Lance Cohen.
“Although the right address and panoramic sea views are given criteria and price is not a defining factor, it is noteworthy that trophy homes are increasingly fetching prices of R20 million to R30m and are now breaching the R100m barrier,” he says.
“This year, 201 properties worth almost R1.7 billion were sold in these four suburbs alone. During the same period last year, 178 property sales worth just over R1.5bn were recorded,” says Seeff Atlantic seaboard managing director, Ian Slot.
“About eight properties were priced above R30m compared to six last year. Seeff ’s sales in these suburbs alone already top R600m with luxury property sales including a villa in Head Road, Fresnaye that was sold for R26m, a Clifton villa that was sold for R24m, an Eventide apartment in Clifton that went for R45m, a four-bedroomed villa in Nettleton Road, Clifton that was sold for R31.5m and a 1 200m vacant plot in the same road that was sold for R35m.”
S l o t s ay s t h e At l a n t i c seaboard attracts wealthy locals, and is increasingly seen as a safe haven for wealthy property buyers.
“Around 96 properties worth almost R784m were sold to foreigners, and almost 10 percent of foreign buying is now attrib- utable to buyers from African countries such as Nigeria, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe,” he says.
“Since Seeff sold the first One&Only penthouse at just over R110m at the end of 2009, buyers have been prepared to pay over R40m and ever closer to R100m for a home here, despite the subdued economic climate. This notwithstanding, buying activity remains soft in the luxury market,” says Cohen. “However, average house prices here continue to strengthen year-on-year. In 2005 for example, when activity was at peak levels, the average price in Clifton was R9.8m, today it is a l most d o ubl e a t a r o und R17.5m. The average price in Bantry Bay has increased from R5.4m to R9.5m, has more than doubled in Fresnaye, from R3.6m to R7.4m, and Camps Bay homes now cost on average R7.6m; up from R4.9m in 2005.
“Vacant land is extremely scarce and can now sell for well above R9m for a plot. Based on land sales in the suburbs this year, rates range upwards of R17 850/m to as much as R29 166/m for a plot in Clifton’s Nettleton Road.”
Slot says that capital growth returns have been remarkable since 2008. “Since 2009, sellers have achieved average investment returns on resale of 14 to 15 percent based on a holding period of just over six years. Although this is understandably somewhat below the boom-period returns of around 30 percent, it is still significant.”
Although there is still plenty to buy in the R10m to R15m price range, the agents say this has been the most active price band here this year. In some of the most sought after locations, such as Nettleton Road, homes generally cost R30m to R50m now.
Seeff is marketing two luxury homes at around R100m each in Nettleton Road, and in De Wet Road in Fresnaye, a new home is for sale at R59.95m.
This 1 300m four- storey home with four bedrooms incorporates the latest German and Austrian technology and European finishes. Biometric security, mood lighting, temperature control, sound, and Wi- Fi are controlled at the touch of a button. Other features include a glass lift, floating bridges and walkways, a vertical garden and two swimming pools.