Attention has boosted Plettenberg Bay's property market

According to the latest New World Wealth Survey of wealthy suburbs undertaken in conjunction with MasterCard, Plettenberg Bay now ranks in the top three premier property locations in the country next to Cape Town's Atlantic Seaboard and Sandton in Johannesburg.

Kevin Engelsman, Seeff’s licensee says that according to the survey some 260 millionaires now own second homes in Plett, 120 of which are worth more than R20m. This is the highest number of homes valued at this price outside of Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Plett is attracting a lot of attention and this has boosted the property market. Save for a shift in demand to the more affordable, sub-R5m to R10m price sector, there appears to be little cooling in the demand for property here.

Seeff has sold R132m worth of property over the November to February summer period. This is twice as much as during the corresponding period of the previous year.

Price range

While the bulk of the sales activity is still under the R2m price band, about 20% of all activity was above the R5m to R10m-plus price range. That is notable if you consider that very few properties sold above the R5m price mark just five years ago.

The almost year-round sunshine and mild winters also make Plett a popular choice for retirement buyers, some as young as 50, says Engelsman. The Cape has seen strong migration patterns of buyers from other provinces, especially Gauteng, but as far as KwaZulu-Natal investing not just in second homes, but relocating to the province.

Despite now ranking up there with the Atlantic Seaboard and Sandton, Engelsman says that Plett is still offering excellent value and smart buyers are taking note. Prices have risen very conservatively at only about 2% above the CPI rate over the last few years and property prices are still significantly below par.

No shortage of top end sales

According to the latest Private Property data, the average price for a two-bedroomed apartment is R1m and for a three-bedroomed apartment around R1.5m. A three-bedroomed house sells for around R2.43m, and a four-bedroomed house around R4.17m.

In reality though, says Engelsman, you can still find a stunning two-bedroomed apartment for around the R600,000 price mark and a house for well under R2m. There is also still plenty of land up for grabs under R400,000 and you can even get ocean or river views for under R600,000.

While most buyers are looking for good value, there has been no shortage of top end sales over the last five years with several R20m-plus transactions ranging to as much as R43m for a beach house in Robberg Beach.