Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
City Bowl prices boosted by stock shortages
STRONG demand and a shortage of stock in the City Bowl is having an effect on property selling prices which have increased significantly on average over the past 12 months, according to Greeff Christie’s City Bowl director, Ryan Greeff.
“Statistics vary from suburb to suburb. In Tamboerskloof, the average selling price of apartments over the past 12 months rose by 15.2 percent, according to Propstats, and the average days listed was down from 47 to 31,” says Greeff.
“The highest selling price achieved over the past 12 months in Tamboerskloof was R8.25 million for a 177 m threebedroom apartment with exceptional views and one garage. The average selling price for apartments in Tamboerskloof is closer to R2.8m, depending on the number of bedrooms and the age or condition of the apartment.”
He says it’s important to bear in mind that the available statistics are made up of vastly varying properties and this can skew figures. “An example of this skewing is that the average selling price in Vredehoek over the past 12 months shows a statistical increase of 28 percent compared to the previous 12 months. The statistics show the increase due to the inclusion of six sales of over R4m.
“The highest selling price achieved in Vredehoek over the past 12 months, according to Propstats, was R5.75m for a 132m2 three- bedroom apartment with two garages. Not yet recorded by Propstats is possibly the highest price achieved in Vredehoek, for a three-bedroom penthouse sold off plan by Greeff Christie’s for R8.5m.
“However the more realistic average selling price for Vredehoek apartments is closer to between R1.6m and R2.8m,” says Greeff.
In De Waterkant the average selling price is reported to have risen by 18.7 percent over the past 12 months. In De Waterkant, average selling prices range from R2.2m to R3.5m for one- and two-bedroom apartments, says Marthinus Botha, director of Greeff Christie’s City Bowl. “According to Propstats the highest reported selling price for the area during the past 12 months was R6.8m for a 129m , threebedroom apartment with two reception rooms and a study, plus two parking bays.
“In the city, continued demand has resulted in the average selling price of apartments rise by 14.7 percent over the past 12 months,” says Botha.
He says the highest reported price for the city area, over the past 12 months was R8 026 315 for a 180m apartment at The Taj, with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, two reception rooms and two parking bays.
“Greeff Christie’s City Bowl sales statistics reveal that in the city and nearby surrounding areas, the sweet spot in selling prices for one- bedroom apartments is R1.7m to R1.8m, and two-bedroom apartments are fetching around R2.3m on average,” says Greeff.
“An advantage for sellers of City Bowl apartments is that a high proportion of buyers are paying cash. Five out of the last six sales from our office have been cash sales.”