Downsizing gains popularity due to cost-cutting and a more convenient lifestyle

IF YOU’RE planning to sell your large family house and downsize to a smaller property, now’s the time to make your move, says Jan Davel, managing director of the RealNet estate agency group.

“The prices of large homes have shown much greater growth in the past year than those of small or medium properties, and owners in many areas are finding that it is more convenient and secure to move to a smaller home, and that there are immediate financial benefits as well,” he says.

“According to the latest Absa housing review, the average price of large houses ( 220m ² to 400m ² ) has risen 6.2 percent in the past year to R1.94m, whereas that of medium-size homes (140m² to 220m²) has risen only 4 percent, to R1.22m. And there are even bigger discrepancies in some areas that are giving further impetus to the downscaling trend – and to intercity moves.”

Davel says that in Port Elizabeth, for example, the average price of large homes has risen by 27.2 percent over the past 12 months to R1.86m, whereas that of medium-size properties has actually declined by 6.5 percent to just R814 000.

“Consequently, owners of large homes here may well be able to use the proceeds of their sales to buy medium homes for cash and still have some money left over, especially if they have owned their larger homes for a long time and built up their equity.”

Similarly, he says, downsizing is set to gain momentum in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg, where the average price of large homes has risen 11 percent to R1.73m in the past year, and the average price of a medium home has risen only 3.5 percent to R972 000.

Meanwhile, the Absa figures also show that Cape Town is the most expensive city in which to buy property, with an overall average home price of R1.72m for the past 12 months. The average price for the north-

Prices of large