SA's Top Suburbs
An article published on the iAfrica website (20 March 2008) reports the results from the annual South African Property Transfer Guide (SAPTG) ‘Top Ten’, carried out by a leading local marketing insights company, Knowledge Factory. The figures are based on the latest deeds office information, which is combined with three other proprietary datasets developed by Knowledge Factory, and gives property professionals an accurate picture of annual market activity in the country. The results specify the top ten suburbs in South Africa in 2007, focusing on the highest volume of sales, the highest sales value and the highest average sales value.
In terms of the highest volume of sales in 2007, the Sowetan suburb of Protea Glen was a clear leader, with an incredible 2406 properties traded at an average value of R128 861. The second best suburb in this category last year was the booming Cosmo City, which registered 1744 sales at an average value of R109 460. Gauteng also took third place, with Karenpark recording 1626 sales with an average value of R339 652.
In terms of Knowledge Factory’s geo-demographic segmentation tool, Protea Glen falls into the ‘Bond Battalions’ category, whereby young parents are effectively weighed down by their various responsibilities (families, bonds, rates, taxes and maintaining the second family car). Karenpark falls into the ‘Pram Pushers’ category, where South Africa is seen to be bursting at the seams from its baby-grows. Cosmo City’s placing clearly shows the tremendous metropolitan growth in 2007 and that there remains a sustained and healthy demand for entry-level housing in South Africa.
When it comes to the highest value of sales, Gauteng again took top honours with the suburb of Bryanston, generating a total value of more than R2.079bn from 1113 sales. Bryanston falls into the ‘Upper Crust’ category, where properties are large and by far the most expensive in every city. Second place also went to a Gauteng suburb, Sandown, where 729 sales were recorded at a total value of R1.6bn. Completing another Gauteng top three, Morningside showed steadily increasing activity and came in third with a total value of R1.465bn from 727 sales. Both Sandown and Morningside are reported as falling into the ‘Fashion Café Society’ category, where the population largely comprises young trendsetters, reflecting their status as prestigious and upwardly mobile families and couples. The properties are relatively small but have recently been renovated and are generally immaculate in design.
The highest annual average value of sales continued to be dominated by the more exclusive and expensive suburbs in the country. Gauteng’s Westcliffe came in first with a high overall sale value of R9.918mn. Coming in second was the affluent suburb of Llandudno in Cape Town, showing an average sales value of R8.75mn. The sought-after Steenberg Golf Estate in Cape Town’s exclusive suburb of Constantia came a close third, averaging R8.297mn in sales. All three of these suburbs are said to belong in the ‘Upper Crust’ category. Aside from the large, expensive properties, residents who fall into this category are also reportedly a highly educated group, with one of four household residents holding a university degree and the average household income being the highest in South Africa.
The information in this article is courtesy of iAfrica (SA’s Hottest Suburbs, Thursday 20 March 2008).
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment