Attention sellers, Hermanus property still hot, hot, hot!
Hermanus property has become a hot commodity with buyers now forking out up to R24 million for a luxury home in the village. New developments too are selling like hot cakes, says Reon van der Merwe, Seeff licensee for the area. Last year was the most active for the market since pre-2007/8 with sales topping the R1.2 billion mark. In many areas, our agents could not keep up with the demand and properties were selling almost as fast as they were listed or advertised in the case of new developments. We are not sure whether it was a last minute rush by buyers to still get their hands on property in the village, but we have had the busiest November/December period on record. Seeff alone concluded R111 million in sales, twice as much as during the same period in 2014, says van der Merwe. Buyers came from all over the country, especially from Gauteng and the northern provinces. There certainly was a sense of urgency to secure property in the Cape. Some days, our offices looked like a mall with people doing their last minute shopping before Christmas with up to 4–5 groups of people waiting to be served in our new Onrus office. Our new ‘Comprehensive Collection of Properties’ brochure was on the shelves in early December with all our sole mandates advertised in one portfolio and just about every buyer came with one clutched under the arm. In the Onrus/Vermont area alone, we sold nine of these properties ranging to a beachfront property that sold for a record R14 million. The previous highest price achieved here was R10 million, set in 2013. In Hermanus itself, we also sold a number of properties over R5 million. Even in Sandbaai, we concluded a R3.9 million sale which is the second highest price achieved over the past two years. New developments attracted significant interest, says van der Merwe. Agent, Linda Woolnough sold four properties in the Flamingo Bay development that is located on the Botriver estuary close to Fisherhaven. Seeff also sold four properties in the new Negester Retirement Village. We have not seen any real fall-out or negative impact from the national economy, says van der Merwe. Hermanus boasts a micro economy that bodes well for the future and despite the anticipated economic challenges, we are confident that this will be another active year for sellers and developers. Hermanus has come a long way over the last five years with a number of exciting developments around the central business area as well as some new residential development including beach front apartments, he adds. Where it was once generally older people buying here, Hermanus now ranks as a vibrant coastal hot spots with a growing economy. It has become quite a trendy place to be seen come the holidays or just about any weekend in between. According to van der Merwe, the development in Hermanus has been a very positive influence for the property market. Where house prices used to struggle to reach the R5 million to R10 million mark, last year saw a number of R20 million-plus sales. Even beach front apartments can now easily reach prices of up to R13 million for a new unit with stunning sea views. Contact Seeff Hermanus on 028 316 3100 or visit www.seeff.com.
