Steady demand for Bloemfontein South property

Property in Bloemfontein South has never been as affordable as it is now. "It is exactly this factor which makes it more desirable and sought after by a very wide range of buyers," says Jaco de Lange, Rawson Property Group's franchisee for Bloemfontein South.

"Homes in Bloemfontein South sell in a price range of R820,000 to R2,2-million, with the strongest demand focused on the R1,2-million to R1,3-million bracket," he said.

As a consequence of this demand, said de Lange, in the last four months of 2013 his team of 11 was selling more houses per month than ever before and, after a dip in sales in the early months of this year, they are back to a "very satisfactory sales rate".

The sales, he said, have been more or less equally divided between sectional title and freehold units and one of the factors driving the demand is the large number of university students living in the area.

The role pricing plays

"Any correctly priced home in the target range will sell within a fortnight. We have even seen one or two houses sold within 24 hours of listing. However, as appears to be happening countrywide, there will always be a fairly large number of sellers who are unable to accept a realistic valuation and will insist on a price higher than the market value. This, of course, inevitably leads to the house sticking on the sales list for months on end. In one instance, we were asked to list a house in Fichardt Park for R1,7-million, where our valuation was R1,3-million. This house stuck on the market for two years, went through three unsuccessful auctions, and eventually was sold for R1,25m by us."

The strong demand, added de Lange, is resulting in prices increasing by some six to 7% per annum and this trend also seems likely to continue.

In the year ahead, he added, a major new development of 120 sectional title units in Crestone Hills and Delano View in Lilyvale is now being rolled out by Lenova Construction. Here units will be available from R1,320,000 to R1,620,000. These will be double storey and buyers will be able to take transfer from next month onwards.

The franchise's rental division, run by Elmarie Kleynhans, is also experiencing a situation in which demand exceeds supply. Freestanding homes in the area are on average achieving rentals of between R8,500 and R11,000 per month, while sectional title units are priced from R4,000 to R7,000.

Looking ahead, he is confident of achieving a 15% increase in sales this year and the good news is that anyone buying now will see significant capital appreciation.

"It is the oldest cliché in the property world, but now is definitely the right time to buy," he said.