Fastest selling suburbs in Gauteng according to Seeff
If you'd like to sell your house within a day, Seeff agents across Gauteng all agree that it is of the utmost importance that the price, location and condition are right. Charles Vining, Seeff’s Managing Director for Seeff Sandton, says no matter which way you look at it, a well-priced property will always sell quicker than an overpriced one. “A property need not have to be a ‘bargain’ to sell fast; it simply needs to be priced according to current market conditions and at a rate comparable to recent sales in the same suburb or complex. Buyers are acutely aware of the type of property available or on the market within their budget and will quickly recognise a fair deal or dismiss a listing as overpriced.” Vining says in Sandton, properties under R2 million are most sought after and tend to move the quickest, but there is also adequate demand for super expensive trophy homes which is clearly demonstrated in figures from Lightstone that around 30 properties priced at R20 million and higher have been sold in Sandton since 2013. Property in the sub R2 million price range usually fall into sectional title and are popular amongst investors or first time buyers, both local and foreign, while extravagant properties equally attract local and foreign interest. Vining continues that their branch has moderate but consistent interest from foreign buyers. Around 15% to 20% of their sales can be attributed to foreign buyers that are mostly from countries on the African continent like Nigeria, Rwanda, Cameroon, Angola, Zambia, Ghana and the Congo. These buyers are mostly interested in secure and modern cluster homes priced from R4 million to R6 million or palatial residences priced up to R45 million in areas like Hyde Park, Sandhurst, Morningside and Bryanston. There is however also much interest in sectional title units for investment purposes in and around Sandton central. “As long as the property remains good value for money, the price of the property is irrelevant and it will soon find a buyer”, says Vining. With regard to location anything near enough to the arterial routes and the main CBD of Sandton like Morningside, Bryanston and Illovo are a sure bet in terms of a quick sale while property in Fourways and surrounds is also hot property. “Property in any of these suburbs and in Sandton Central often sells before the first show day and this is boosted by our branch’s vast database of active buyers that are alerted whenever a new property is listed. Vining notes that one of their agents in Midrand recently took a buyer to a listing appointment where after the buyer signed an offer to purchase the property of R800 000 straight after the viewing. “This indicates that while pricing is tantamount to getting a quick sale, so is working with the right agent”. Gerhard van der Linde, the Managing Director of Seeff’s branch in Pta East agrees that selecting an agent who has access to a database of buyers is equally important as price, location and condition. “Agents who are selecting from an existing pool of buyers have greater success in finding a suitable buyer quicker for every property they market.” Suburbs in Pta East that are particularly in high demand include Garsfontein, Moreleta Park, Faerie Glen, Brooklyn and the Lynnwoods. When a property is priced correctly, well presented in a good condition, it should be sold within the first 21 days in the overwhelming majority of cases”. Examples of recent sales concluded by Seeff Pta East in a short period of time include a home in Waterkloof Ridge that sold in one day of listing for R7,4 million (at 97% of the asking price), a home in Val de Grace that was sold on the same day of listing for the full asking price of R2,3 million and a home in Moreleta Park that was sold within one day of listing for R740 000 (also 97% of the asking price). Van der Linde concludes that a false perception sometimes occurs with sellers that a property was priced too low when it sells very quickly, but quite the contrary is true. “Overpriced listings stay on the market forever. If priced correctly, the market responds favourably, and buyers who buy through a process of comparison and elimination, will recognise proper market value and will respond to good value for money promptly and accordingly”. In Centurion property in estates sell the quickest hands down and have to date had excellent returns. Steve van Wyk, Seeff’s Managing Director in the area says a property of R1.1 million recently sold in the Eco Park estate only one day after listing. “The demand for estate living in Centurion has increased dramatically and buyers are happy to pay a premium price for the security aspect. Centurion has a broad range of estates priced from R1.5m to R20m. More prestigious estates include Cornwall Hill, Centurion Golf Estate, Irene Farm Villages, Southdowns, Blue Valley, Copperleaf, Heuwelsig and Midstream.” Nicolas Falck, a Seeff agent in Johannesburg South says in the South the fastest selling suburbs are by far Ormonde, Suideroord, Mondeor, Mulbarton and Glenvista. Prices here range from starter to middle to high income brackets. Falck believes that value for money plays an even more important role in some suburbs in the South of Johannesburg than the condition of the property would in other suburbs. In Ormonde for example one can easily find three bedroom houses priced from R750 000, in Suideroord where homes sometimes sell within a week of being listed you can buy a two bedroom apartment in a secure complex for R850 000, in Mondeor you can buy modern townhouses with two bedrooms for R630 000 and under and three bedroom homes for just over a million rand and in the more upmarket Mulbarton and Glenvista family homes can be snatched up for under R1.5 million. Falck concludes by saying that he recently made a sale one day after a property was listed in Glenvista Ext 3 at R1795 000.00. He says he has also concluded sales to the very first client to view a property on a number of occasions. In Bedfordview and Edenvale the suburbs that sell the quickest are Dowerglen and its extentions, Dunvegan and Greenstone Hill, says David Ingle, Seeff’s Managing Director for the area. “Competitive prices and serious, motivated sellers are the main reason for this. Last month one of our agents sold a cluster home in Dowerglen Ext 4 for R2.7 million – not only was this sale made on the same day that the property was listed, but it was also the highest price achieved in the suburb”. Ingle concludes that in their area a property’s condition in relation to similar properties on the market plays a big role in how fast the property will sell. In Randburg, Roosevelt Park and Montgomery Park are two areas with extremely high demand and short supply and this results in quicker sales, says Chris Hejec, Seeff’s Managing Director in Randburg. These suburbs are also in close proximity to places of worship, the Rosebank CBD, Johannesburg CBD and Sandton CBD and have excellent public and private schools and universities. Hajec concludes the quickest sale their branch has made in the past year was a property listed in Bourdeaux for R1.5 million where the property was listed in the morning and the sale was concluded that same evening.
