Further evidence that residential property sales in South Africa are climbing steadily out of the trough into which it fell in late 2008, and for much of last year, comes with the announcement from Tony Clarke, Rawson Properties MD, that March has been the best month ever in the 36 year history of the group.
Some of the figures quoted by Clarke make impressive reading: the January 2010 sales of Rawson Properties were 104% up on those of the same month in 2009 and the March 2010 sales 25% up on the same month last year. The quarterly sales for October/November/December 2009 were 35% up on the third quarter of that year and the first quarter sales this year were 45% p on the last quarter of 2009.
'Although there are still some areas where we would like to see better performances,' said Clarke, 'the overall trend is now definitely upwards. The two main Metropolitan areas in which we are established, Gauteng and the Western Cape, are leading the way but there has also been steady growth in our franchises in Limpopo Province, in the Eastern and Southern Cape and in KZN'
Asked to specify exactly which areas have shown outstanding results, Clarke listed Glenvista, Randpark Ridge and Northriding in Gauteng and Table View-Blaauwberg, Kuils River and Strand at the Cape.
In these areas, he said, much of the sales success can be attributed to the hard work of the resident Rawson franchisees and their teams but it is also true, he said, that the areas themselves are proving more popular with buyers than ever before.
'Our franchises are doing well in those districts '“ but so are some of the others. Investors looking for capital appreciation should, therefore, take note: these are the suburbs in which the action is hottest'
