Affordable, secure homes in the suburbs

Agents report a warm response to Blackheath’s first ‘security village’

THE lack of supply of affordable housing has resulted in more and more developments being built to meet this growing demand, says Charles Louw of RE/MAX Property Associates.

Louw, whose office is in Brackenfell, says buyers have been particularly interested in areas like Blackheath, one of Cape Town’s north- easter n suburbs.

“There has been a growing demand in this area from buyers for affordable housing options. Requests for properties priced between R400 000 and R600 000 are increasing monthly in the Blackheath area. As a result, a fair number of developments have been built here and in surrounding suburbs.”

One such development in Blackheath is Greenfields Village, the only security village in the area, and it is proving popular with buyers, Louw says.

“With fewer second- hand properties available for buyers, new developments such as Greenfields Vil l a g e have enjoyed great success over the past few months.

“The development’s security features have also greatly added to its appeal, as many property-buying decisions are driven by safety elements.”

Adrian Goslett, chief executive of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, says security has become one of the main factors influencing decisions about which home to buy.

“South African home buyers are among the most security- conscious in the world, which is why properties in secure estates or complexes are sought after and show a greater return on investment,” says Goslett.

Apart f rom the security

‘Properties in secure estates or complexes are sought after and show a greater return on investment’

aspects of the development, such as an electric fence, armed response and an accesscontrolled entrance, Greenfields includes a children’s playground, garden services for all owners, open public spaces and the maintenance of sprinkler systems. It is also close to schools, shopping centres and transport routes.

“The development is geared towards a family lifestyle and building a sense of community, where neighbours feel like neighbours and not like distant strangers,” says Louw.

He says that Greenfields Village has 93 houses with three plans for buyers to choose from in two- and three-bedroomed formats.

The entry-level 50m², twobedroomed units cost from about R445 000, the 60m², threebedroomed units are priced from R499 000 and the 70m², three- bedroomed units from R559 000.

Louw says that for would-be buyers to qualify for finance i n t h e s e p r i c e b r a c ke t s , they would have to be earning a basic salary of about R14 000.

“So far, sales have been successful and only 38 houses are left,” he says.

According to Louw, some of Blackheath’s surrounding suburbs also offer buyers affordable buying options.

Among them is Dennemere, where two-bedroomed homes cost about R460 000 and threebedroomed homes sell for about R510 000.

Slightly more expensive homes can be found in suburbs such as Austinville and Gaylee, where houses are priced at about R650 000 on average.

Call Corena Botha at 073 604 6454 or send her an e-mail at corena@remaxpa.co.za.