The boundary lines between the buyers’, sellers’ and an ‘even’ residential property market in which supply more or less meets demand tends to shift and to be indistinct – but in the City Bowl and Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, and indeed in the middle class suburbs of most of South Africa’s big centres, there can now be no doubt that a sellers’ market has arrived and has become well and truly entrenched.
This is the view of Wayne Albutt, the Rawson Property Group’s Western Cape Regional Sales Manager.
“Wherever the Rawson Property Group is active in South Africa’s big centres,” said Albutt, “the story is the same. Stock is becoming harder to find, correctly priced houses almost always sell within six to eight weeks and prices are creeping upwards. What this means is that any buyer who hesitates now will almost certainly find himself paying more in three to six months’ time.”
Like some other national estate agencies, said Albutt, the Rawson Property Group is finding that the new confidence and the strong demand are directly translating into increased sales.
“The group’s sales,” said Albutt, “in the third quarter of 2013 have been double those of 2012, which was already over 30% up on 2011. The third quarter of 2013 was the best ever in the Rawson Property Group’s 31 year history.”
It is, added Albutt, gratifying that the upswing is no longer confined to the lower middle and lower price bracket homes. In Cape Town the Rawson Property Group’s franchises serving suburbs like Constantia, Tokai, Wynberg, Bergvliet, Hout Bay, Milnerton and Melkbosstrand - and even outlying towns like Paarl - have all experienced unprecedented growth.
Repeating a message that he has propagated on several occasions, Albutt said that the rising market offers good opportunities to those who are contemplating a career move to real estate.
A sellers’ market has arrived and is now truly entrenched in the middle class suburbs of most of SA’s big centres...http://t.co/fKLiLA1IXz
— RawsonPropertyGroup (@RawsonGroup) October 28, 2013
“Many of us in this sector,” he said, “had to endure the 2009 to 2011 and other recessions. Those joining now can do so with confidence that the market is improving steadily and sales are now definitely achievable.”
