Plettenberg Bay: Snapshot of a diverse, active market
Category Newsletter
We comprehensively assist buyers and sellers to make informed decisions, so without pontificating HMP is keen to educate buyers and sellers about the allure of the local property market and its trends.
While this free goldmine of information glints for all, many do not have time or, indeed, inclination, to sift, organise and analyse the available information.
So HMP delights in doing that donkey work; permitting all who wish, to comfortably get to grips with Plett’s wide ranging property market.
As a start, take a peep at 2013 property movement in the area from January to October.
No fewer than 240 properties changed hands in the greater Plettenberg Bay area; 171 were freehold; 69 sectional title.
Incredibly, that’s more than 26 properties a month changing hands – some “flat market” ... sceptics please note.
Of all suburbs in that total, Whale Rock was most active - 56 registrations (55 freehold; one sectional title), with Plettenberg Bay (eight freehold; 21 sectional title) and Sea Side Longships (23 freehold; 6 sectional title) in hot pursuit, each with 29.
The quietest suburbs were Cutty Sark (one sale) Poortjies (four) and Bowtie (five); naturally, one takes into account suburb size and property density, but trends are trends, activity is activity.
Oscar Wilde wrote “comparisons are odious,” but see how the trend has gone over the years.
Whale Rock averaged above 50 sales annually between 2004 and 2012 (a high of 92 in 2004; a low of 17 in 2009 (2008 saw the beginning of the global economic meltdown) so 56 for the first nine months of this year indicates things are looking up. Cutty Sark, where sales began only in 2007, is averaging 1.5 sales annually.
Yet another, but vital factor in looking at market activity is to compare price changes for the same period...
Sea Side Longships averaged R1.4-million per freehold sale in 2004 (57 sales); for 2013, prices have averaged R3.9m (23 freehold sales); Whale Rock’s average of R700 000 in 2004 (92 freehold sales) has dropped to R360 000 this year (55 freehold sales from January to end October). This dramatic change could be attributed to the number of first time registrations of vacant stands, often a result of developers selling remaining stock at reduced prices.
The suburbs looked at are as follows:
Baron's View, Bowtie, Brackenridge, Central Beach, Cutty Sark,
Goose Valley Golf Estate, Lower Central, Lower Robberg, Piesang Valley
Plettenberg Bay, Plettenberg Bay Country Club, Poortjies, River Club
Robberg Beach, Robberg Ridge, Schoongezicht, Sea Side Longships
Signal Hill, Upper Central, Upper Robberg, Whale Rock.
So stats dazzle but we at HMP prefer to please. The diversity of property and values in the area requires that those selling and buying be conversant with factors determining all transactions and be aware of where and why activity is taking place.
HMP research also indicates it is significantly cheaper to buy an established, property rather than build from scratch; nevertheless there were 37 approvals to build developments in the Plett region between January and September this year.
What do all these figures signify?
One word – demand.
Interest and demand for property in the Plett area continues to grow as more and more overseas, up-country and local buyers gaze fondly at the Garden Route – an iconic destination for holidaymakers and secure, comfortable living for its many happy residents.
Oh, you might also like a peep at the attached transfer report summary for October.
HMP welcomes your any questions relating to buying or selling property in the Plettenberg Bay area; do not hesitate to contact us at www.helenmelon.co.za
Helen Ward
Principal: Helen Melon Properties.
Author: Helen Ward
