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The Other Atlantic Seaboard Is Also Hot Property

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The Atlantic Seaboard real estate market is about more - much more - than the headline-grabbing sales of spectacular trophy homes in Bantry Bay, Camps Bay and Clifton.

It's also about the scores of "ordinary" sectional title apartments being sold now in Sea Point, Green Point and Three Anchor Bay, the De Waterkant cottages so popular with overseas buyers and the family homes in Upper Sea Point and Fresnaye.

"For example," says Petrick Fourie, manager of the Chas Everitt International Atlantic Seaboard franchise, "there is unstinting demand, summer and winter, for flats in Sea Point in the R1,3m to R1,4m range. These are generally 60-75sqm one-bedroom units and sometimes two-bedroom units in older buildings that need renovation, and we simply cannot get enough stock of such units to keep up with demand.

"Prospective buyers include investors, retirees and, quite often, foreigners who want a secure pied-à-terre for holidays in Cape Town. In fact, because of the good rand exchange rate with pounds and euros at the moment, we have several of the latter type of buyer anxiously waiting to snap up suitable properties as soon as we find them."

Entry-level into the Sea Point market and adjoining suburbs like Green Point and Three Anchor Bay, he says, is around R750 000 to R900 000 for a bachelor flat, and these are popular with young working singles, because these areas have seen so much upgrading since the Soccer World Cup in 2010, are close to the CBD and offer a lively nightlife.

"However, there is also strong demand for bigger apartments priced at between R2,5m and R3m, especially from both Capetonian and upcountry empty-nesters ready to downsize to a secure, lock-up-and-go home by the sea. Most in demand are two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments of around 100sqm that are away from the hustle and bustle of Main Road but still in a desirable location and still have good views."

And then, Fourie says, there is Fresnaye, where there is currently a huge trend towards upgrading. "Most purchases here are being made by repeat buyers who have sold a good apartment or a smaller house in Sea Point or Fresnaye itself, and are taking the opportunity to move up the property ladder while interest rates are still low."

Generally, he notes, this also involves moving higher up the mountain, and the properties most in demand at the moment are family homes in the R5m to R6m price bracket. And because the topography of the area limits the number of such properties available, those who do manage to acquire them now are likely to see their value grow substantially in the next few years.

Author: Barry Davies

Submitted 31 Jan 14 / Views 1837