Mike Abrahamse, who has had 28 years’ property selling experience with the Rawson Property Group and who has worked in the Blaauwberg area for 25 years (for 12 of which he has been the local franchisee for the Rawson Property Group), said recently that in all that time he has never seen Blaauwberg property as popular and as sought after as it has been in the last 18 months.
“The great news is that we are,” he said, “in areas like Bloubergrant still able to offer buyers a 31 m2 studio apartment at below R500,000 but the most popular price range at this time, said Abrahamse, is between the R800,000 to R2,5 million bracket. We do, of course, have many more pricey homes on the beachfront which today sell at between R10 million to R15 million, but in general Blaauwberg is, in my view, still radically undervalued.”
Abrahamse therefore warns potential investors here that if they put off making a decision to buy, they may well find themselves paying an extra 12% on the price for each year’s delay.
“As recent as a year ago,” he said, “it generally took us three to four months to find a buyer for a home. These days any correctly priced stock is likely to fly out of the door within a week or two of being listed. Furthermore, while homes in general throughout the country are increasing in value at 7 to 8%, others, again mainly those homes situated in beach suburbs such as the Blaauwberg and surrounding areas, can rise by 13 to 15% per annum. A recent survey, in fact, showed that the beachfront properties in this area have risen year-on-year by 13,9%.”
These value rises, said Abrahamse, are of course significant and tend to make any buy in the area a good one. However, Blaauwberg’s popularity is still primarily based not so much on the good value it offers as on the factors which make living here such a pleasant experience. For two decades, he said, estate agents have been listing the reasons why a lifestyle in Blaauwberg can be so amenable and the main points raised are always:
- The area’s long pristine beaches and the surfing, kite surfing, swimming and paddle skiing which they make possible.
“On certain days,” said Abrahamse, “it is quite possible to see over 500 kite surfers in action on the 4 km stretch of coastline reaching up to Big Bay. Kite surfers do, in fact, come on sabbaticals from all over the world to this spot.”
- The area’s year-round good climate.
Blaauwberg, said Abrahamse, has 50% less rain than certain of Cape Town’s Southern Suburbs and in summer it can be warm and light-filled until almost 9 pm, making outdoor dining and picnicking a real pleasure.
- The area’s closeness to Cape Town’s CBD and the V&A Waterfront, both of which are now even more easily and inexpensively reached by means of the very popular MyCiti bus service.
- The area’s plethora of sports facilities, including two international standard golf courses, both within 6 km from the centre of Blaauwberg, a wide selection of gyms including two large national brands, tennis and squash courts, dinghy sailing facilities and excellent cycling, hiking and running facilities. It should not be forgotten, said Abrahamse, that Blaauwberg is also on the doorstep of the Durbanville wine region and all that it offers.
- The area’s good schools, both private and state run, which offer a surprisingly wide choice of subjects and regularly achieve excellent matric results.
- The area’s 50 plus restaurants, bistros and cafés.
“We are,” said Abrahamse, “spoilt for choice when it comes to entertainment facilities.”
- The area’s excellent retail facilities, almost all of which are fairly new and upmarket.
“There are almost no old buildings throughout the Blaauwberg area and the shopping centers have set a new benchmark in regional excellence,” said Abrahamse.
With all this in mind, in reality very few Cape Town suburbs, given what the area has to offer are as affordable as Blaauwberg still is.
For further information on current homes on the market and on new developments in the area contact Michael Abrahamse on 021 557 5514.
