Pam Golding has released its annual real estate review – focusing on the major property trends taking place across South Africa in 2018 and beyond. One of the key focuses of the report are the key growth nodes around the country.
With growing congestion and the rising cost of fuel reducing the distance that people are willing to travel each day – there is a strong desire to live close to work, schools and retail, the report found.
This can either be achieved by living in an estate, or by living in a growth node which offers all these facilities.
It added that instead of a single large congested, expensive node – it makes more sense to have several smaller less expensive nodes.
There can also be a clustering of particular businesses within a particular node – such as financial services and legal companies.
“Notably, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban all have one thing in common – each of these major metros has experienced burgeoning growth with the establishment of huge new nodes to the north of the cities – a trend which continues to gather momentum,” it found.
“The greater Fourways area has become greater Johannesburg’s fastest growing centre evolving into a mini-city in the mould of Sandton city centre.
“While Cape Town is a globally sought-after destination, acclaimed for its natural beauty, lifestyle and world-class services, the city’s well-established Northern Suburbs have morphed into what is essentially an appealing city in its own right, away from the congestion and increasing densification of the Mother City’s CBD and surrounds.
“And in KZN, the rapidly expanding North Coast region, in close proximity to King Shaka International Airport and proliferation of secure lifestyle estates, the North Coast areas from uMhlanga, Umdloti and Sibaya through to Ballito and Zimbali are increasingly in demand from home buyers from KZN and other regions.”
Semigration
The report also looked at semigration in South Africa, noting that there has been a slowdown in South Africans moving to the Western Cape.
However, it noted that this would have been heavily influenced by the recent drought.
“While that has dissipated, the deterioration in the affordability of properties in the Western Cape is likely to reduce the net inflow of repeat buyers to the Cape,” it said.
“On the other hand, KZN – in particular the North Coast, the Eastern Cape and Garden Route report a steady demand from home buyers from other provinces, including Gauteng, while Gauteng itself, as the economic powerhouse of SA, enjoys a constant flow of buyers into the province.”
The report added that a number of these South Africans were also looking to move into lifestyle estates.
“Today, home buyers are increasingly focused on living in a secure environment while having easy access to amenities and outdoor and sporting activities. Wellness, equestrianism, fishing, walking and other sporting pursuits are all used to differentiate the product offering from one estate to another,” the report found.
“Estate properties also offer access to high-quality recreational facilities, provide a strong sense of community and give residents greater control over shared expenditure and development. The latter has become more important in the current environment of rising utility costs.
“Key factors contributing to the popularity of estate living are a secure lifestyle and location — with those situated in and around major metropolitan areas or business hubs and in close proximity to good schooling proving among the most sought after and successful.”
This article was sourced from BusinessTech; for the original article, click here.
