Faerie Glen, the upmarket Pretoria East suburb, which has some 7400 full title and sectional title homes within in its boundaries, has always been one of the most sought after residential areas serving Pretoria, says Dale Vinnicombe, the Rawson Property Group’s franchisee for this territory. Right now, however, he adds, the price levels are only fractionally higher than they were when they dropped by 20 to 25% in late 2008 and early 2009 as a result of the financial crash. This, he says, means that almost any home on the market here today is an excellent buy.
Vinnicombe, who has owned the franchise since July 2011, said that he and his eight agents have sectional title units selling from R650,000 upwards and townhouses from R900,000 to R1,1 million on their stock lists right now, while the full title stock now available varies in price from R1,7 million to R2,3 million.
Currently, said Vinnicombe, demand is particularly strong for the sectional title and lower priced freehold homes, and in a good month he and his team sell eight or nine homes across the board and, he added, if more stock was available that figure could rise significantly.
“Our big challenge is to find stock because the buyers are already there”.
Even so, at the latest Rawson Property Group performance awards he was ranked third nationally and his franchise fourth. Tony Clarke, Managing Director of the Rawson Property Group, has commented that this should tell potential buyers not only that the Rawson Property Group has an excellent franchisee at Faerie Glen but also that this is an area with huge potential, one which is going forward all the time.
“What Dale Vinnicombe has said about Faerie Glen having always been a preferred precinct in Pretoria is absolutely valid,” said Clarke. “A buy here is about as good an investment as it is possible to find anywhere in South Africa today.”
Asked to what he attributes Faerie Glen’s appeal, Vinnicombe said that the suburb is split by a small mountain range and has always had a semi-rural ambience, despite being fully developed.
The shortage of stock for sale, he said, has done much to boost rentals for which he now has a separate division run by its own agent. Sectional title units in Faerie Glen regularly achieve rents of R6,000 to R7,000 per month and free standing homes with two to four bedrooms can command anything from R15,000 to R25,000 per month.
In view of the steady demand for Faerie Glen properties, when does Vinnicombe see prices beginning to rise?
“Not for another 18 to 24 months,” he said. “Sellers have only recently come round to accepting today’s price levels. They would be foolish to start looking for big profits on their original purchases unless they bought well before the 2007 peaks. However, it is true that prices have now stabilized completely and the market is gaining strength month-by-month and now, therefore, is an excellent time to buy.”
