To an ambitious estate agent, Mitchells Plain presents very obvious opportunities to get ahead. However, it is also an area in which it is probably more difficult to ‘crack’ than the vast majority of people realize.
Michael Feltsman, Rawson Properties franchisee for Mitchells Plain, who has operated in this area since 2005, explained in a recent interview that the sheer size of Mitchells Plain is both an invitation and a challenge.
“We do not have wholly accurate figures,” he said, “but most estimates put the number of homes in Mitchells Plain at between 24 000 to 30 000. This means, according to an estimate done in 2009, some 1.4 million people live here. Obviously, with such a big population, there will always be a reasonably buoyant sales turnover. However at the same time it is also true that any agent operating here has to face at least three obstacles.
These are:
- A fair number of people who officially bought and paid for their council homes here back in the 1970’s never in fact took legal transfer and if they want to sell their homes today, a double transfer has to take place; first from the council to current owner, then to the new buyer.
- A high percentage of potential sellers plan to move ‘up the line’ to such areas as Wynberg, Kuilsriver, Goodwood, Parow, Grassy Park and Ottery; and to do this they often need to achieve a good sales price – which is just not possible in today’s market.
- Demand for homes here is strong, but many of the buyers, even when they have satisfactory earnings, also have tarnished credit records or high debt levels. These, of course, disqualify them from getting mortgage bonds, now that the National Credit Act is being enforced.
“We do,” commented Feltsman, “work hard to pre-qualify prospective buyers before they approach the banks, but quite often we find that they are not fully aware of just how much non-core expenditure they have committed themselves to and are carrying each month. Chain store accounts, credit cards and other drains on personal income are very prevalent among the Mitchells Plain population.”
As in other precincts, said Feltsman, Mitchells Plain has both highly valued and less valued areas. Typical sales done by his franchise here, which employs seven agents, he said, are usually in the R280 000 to R340 000 bracket. However in some parts, like Westridge, Westgate, Weltevreden Valley, Rondevlei Park, Colorado and Mandalay, where houses are bigger and plot sizes vary from 280m² to 750m², the average price can be well above
R450 000. By way of contrast, in Tafelsig, Eastridge, Beacon Valley and Lentegeur, prices are usually around the R275 000 mark and go as low as
R220 000.
It is now widely known that Mitchells Plain had a traumatic start, as many of the occupants living here were forcibly removed from other areas. Not surprisingly, therefore, it was in this area that the UDF was first launched and has recently been re-launched. The only consolation for the wrongs of the past, said Feltsman, is that in some cases the homes the new occupants took over were in fact better than those they had been in and in other cases some who had previously not had homes were given homes.
Given this background, said Feltsman, it is remarkable how well the community operates today. Some 24 high schools and 45 primary schools serve the area, which has around 45 churches and 23 mosques. The newly revamped Liberty Promenade is flourishing and has been able to cajole all the major South African chain stores into taking space. Sports facilities serving Mitchells Plain are at Westridge, Rocklands, Portlands and Lentegeur and, of course, all homes here have a close link with the False Bay coastline and the Mnandi and Monwabisi resorts.
Despite these positive factors, said Feltsman, on the negative side it has to be confessed that many homes suffer from over-crowding. Some 40% of the families in Mitchells Plain, he said, have their grown-up children or lodgers living with them and as there are virtually no sectional title units in Mitchells Plain and little chance of people buying a cheap starter home. Many see themselves relegated to being renters and lodgers all of their lives.
Then, too, transport is a problem. The reasonably efficient train service is shunned by many because of the muggings that have occurred regularly on it and those with their own transport or using one of the taxis may well have to leave by 6 am, if they are to avoid wasting 60 to 90 minutes in traffic jams along the 27 km route to the city.
Looking ahead, Feltsman said that the first signs of a revival in the housing market are now becoming evident and the residential sector could slowly be heading back to its 2007 levels – although this will take time. The time will come, he says, when he will be employing 20 agents, serving all the chief areas, i.e. some two agents in each of the main Mitchells Plain suburbs.
“Although many Mitchells Plain people would like to move out, there are many others with deep roots here who continue to be content with life in Mitchells Plain. The plain truth is that despite – or perhaps because of – its drawbacks, Mitchells Plain can and does offer excellent value, with the buyers’ Rand going a lot further than in similar residential precincts up the line this year.”
Good examples of value on offer here, he said, can be seen from three properties currently being marketed by his team. These are:
- A R850 000 home, partly double storey, in Mandalay. This house has three bedrooms, a separate lounge with a fireplace, a dining room, a fully fitted kitchen with its own scullery, a study, an attractive garden at the rear and the main bedroom has a walk-in dressing room.
- A three bedroom semi-detached New Woodlands home, with open-plan lounge and kitchen, built-in cupboards in the kitchen and a secure carport for two cars. The price here is a mere R350 000.
- A Rocklands three bedroom home, priced at the ‘almost ridiculously low price’ of R290 000. This and many similar properties, said Feltsman, would make excellent buy-to-let investments.