Over the last three to four months there has been a definite rise in demand for homes in one of Durban’s oldest coastal belt suburbs, Bluff – and this has been particularly evident in the R750,000 to R1,2 million bracket, says Mike Jansen, who since November 2012 has been the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for this area.
“Bluff,” said Jansen recently, “can offer buyers a wide range of price options from R550,000 to R10 million or more. However as yet the more expensive, often almost palatial historic homes still stick on the market for a long time, whereas, by contrast, in the price mentioned (R750,000 to R1,2 million), any accurately priced stock seldom stays on our books for more than a few weeks.”
Apart from its close proximity to the Durban CBD – a major advantage – Bluff, said Jansen, is popular because it is a real community with many good schools and a strong community spirit. This has, among other things, led to the formation of highly efficient, active neighbourhood watches which keep in close touch with the local police and security companies and this close liaison has resulted in the area having a very low crime rate – another big draw card for potential buyers. This is one suburb, he said, where residents can safely walk around the streets at night and children can walk or cycle to school.
The sudden upsurge in the demand for sales has led to the Rawson Property Group’s Bluff franchise being able to increase its turnover by 40% and Jansen confidently predicts that prices this year will now rise by 5 to10% because stock is short and prices are showing strong signs of improving.
