Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Buyers put money where their mouths are in the City Bowl
Houses selling for record prices – top Vredehoek price up by a huge R1.9m
BUYERS in the City Bowl seem to be unfazed by the talk of down-market conditions with houses not just still selling quite rapidly above the R5 million price mark, but a notable uptick in top end sales of properties priced at over R10m, some at record prices.
This level of sales is also the highest in the area, according to Seeff ’s two teams selling houses here, who have just concluded a record month with sales of just over R65m coming from seven significant deals.
Michael Hauser and Doris Ricketts sold six properties including a five-bedroom home in Highlands Estate in Frank Road, Vredehoek for a record price of R10.1m and another in Exner Avenue, Vredehoek for R9.35m.
The record price is R1.9m more than the R8.2m achieved in May in Highlands Estate for the sale of a five- bedroom house in the same street. The previous highest price achieved by Seeff in Vredehoek/Devil’s Peak was R7.3m, so these latest sales have significantly moved the price bar up in the area, say Hauser and Ricketts.
The agents also sold a fourbedroom house in St Michaels Road in Tamboerskloof for R10.65m, only about 2.7 percent below the listed price. Other notable sales include a six-bedroom house overlooking the city, in Bridle Road, Oranjezicht that was sold for R13.5m as well as a home in Glencoe Avenue, Higgovale that was sold for R17m.
Agents Michele Apperley and Talitha Finkay also sold a three-bedroom house with a swimming pool and views, in the La Montagne security estate in Mountain Close, Oranjezicht for R10.4m.
“The sale of so many top- priced homes is quite significant and not something that we have seen much of across the market in recent years,” says Ian Slot, Seeff managing director for the Atlantic seaboard and City Bowl.
“Where top end sales comprised around 5 percent or so in recent years, almost 20 percent of the 100-odd houses worth about R700 000m that were sold across the City Bowl suburbs this year, are above the R10m price band.
“This is the highest number ever above this price band and already more than the total number that was sold in this price range for the whole of 2014.”
Oranjezicht tops the list with seven sales of R10m-plus followed by Higgovale with six sales, Tamboerskloof with five sales and the single record sale in Highlands Estate.
Save for two of the sales, one to a German buyer and the other to a buyer from Mpumalanga, all of the R10mplus sales this year have been to local buyers.
Slot says that the City Bowl suburbs have become an excellent alternative to the Atlantic seaboard for family buyers looking for a bit more land space.
“We see for example that about half of the most expensive sales have been spacious homes on large plots, ranging in size from around 1 190m in Oranjezicht to 1 724m2 in Tamboerskloof. Most of the homes also have between four and six bedrooms.
“The most notable area for freehold sales this year is Oranjezicht, where the most sales were recorded at a total of 29 properties sold at an average price of R7.8m.
“The second most sales were in Vredehoek where 21 houses were sold at an average price of R4.6m. This is followed by Tamboerskloof with 14 houses sold at an average price of R9.5m, Higgovale with 13 sales at an average price of R10.5m and Gardens with nine houses sold at an average price of R4.39m,” says Slot.
According to the agents, there still seems to be strong confidence in the market here with buyers keen to get a foothold in the area.