W Cape’s fastest-selling properties

THE WESTERN Cape property market continues to make headlines for its excellent performance, and within the province itself some areas are outperforming others with speed of sale.

Overall, property transactions worth about R11.23 billion have been recorded for the year to July, slightly down on last year’s value of R11.5bn, says Tony Ketcher, Seeff ’s regional general manager for the southern region.

But the overall pace of sales is faster, with properties spending, on average, just eight weeks on the market compared to 10 weeks last year.

The average transaction value recorded by Lightstone for full title is about R2.5 million and for sectional title around R2.3m, but Ketcher says there are still many affordable areas where one can buy for well below this.

An FNB report noted that the national average was for properties to be on the market for more than 15 weeks – 105 days. This is two weeks longer than last year and three weeks longer than the benchmark average of about 12 weeks, says Ketcher.

Overall, the City Bowl is the fastest selling neighbourhood, with properties taking just 36 days to sell. This is almost three times as fast as the national average. In second spot is Blouberg, where homes are on the market for about 49 days.

“The affordability for such a sought-after coastal location, and influx of buyers from across the city and country, remain a good story for the area,” says Seeff licensee Clinton Martle.

Next is the southern suburbs where, despite the challenging economic climate, properties are selling twice as fast as last year, spending just 50 days on the market. This is followed by the Atlantic seaboard – despite its status as the most expensive area in the city and country – and the False Bay area.