Century City properties showing strong capital growth amid demand

PROPERTIES bought off-plan in new residential developments in Century City in recent years have shown capital appreciation of between 20 and 35 percent by the time buyers have taken transfer 18 months later.

Brian Usher, sales director of Property World, the onsite agency for Rabie’s residential developments, says in recent years this level of capital appreciation has been seen almost across the board, particularly for those developments which sold out within days or weeks of being launched.

He says the capital appreciation enjoyed by Century City properties is due to demand continuing to outstrip supply.

“The demand in turn is driven by the high quality of the developments and the Century City environment offering an enviable quality of life with a range of amenities within easy walking distance.”

Usher says that in the Matrix, one of Rabie’s most recent residential developments where owners recently took transfer, a one-bedroom apartment was resold for R2.68 million, reflecting a capital appreciation of 36 percent over 16 months. This equated to a sales price of R47 000/m², a record for the Century City precinct.

Also recently completed is Mayfair where the first few resales have taken place at prices on average more than 35 percent higher than they were originally bought for offplan in 2014. At Rabie’s Quayside development where owners took transfer in 2014, resale prices were reflecting an average capital appreciation of 47 percent for one- bedroom units and 36 percent and 28 percent respectively for two- and three-bedroom apartments.

Similar appreciation has been seen at the neighbouring Quaynorth development, which also came on stream in 2014, with apartments achiev- ing around 37 percent more than the initial selling prices.

The first residential project undertaken by Rabie at Century City was the Island Club which came on stream in 2005/ 2006. The average purchase price of a one-bedroom unit then was R546 086 with resales now fetching an average price of R1.550m – a capital appreciation of over 180 percent over 10 years. Two- and three-bedroom apartments in the same development experienced similar capital appreciation, with prices for units in the first phase increasing the most.

Usher says a new development is on the drawing board in the Bridgeways precinct which is also home to the R1 billion Century City Square development which consists of offices, apartments, restaurants, a hotel and a 1 200-seat conference centre set around a public square and situated over a super basement parking garage.

The recently completed Matrix mixed-use development at Century City where an apartment has just been resold for R47 000/m².