Luxury property market in Sandton to see an increase in sales

Property experts predict Sandton’s market will experience an uptick in sales with a renewed interest in luxury homes.

Since January last year, 10 houses priced between R22 million and R66 million were sold in Sandton and surrounding suburbs.

Charles Vining, Seeff’s managing director for Seeff Sandton said, “That while the market had a reserved year in terms of sales of super homes. It appears that an element of stability has returned to the luxury market as has been clearly demonstrated by the significant uptick in sales in the R14 million to R20 million range over the past six months.

“Naturally, the R20 million plus range will follow on, particularly in the leafy parks suburbs and the exclusive Sandton neighbourhoods of Sandhurst, Hyde Park, Morningside and Bryanston.”

He added that African investors and Johannesburg businessmen and women would continue to base themselves in suburbs where they were only a short distance from the commercial hub and entertainment centre of Sandton and the Johannesburg CBD. Furthermore, the suburbs in the heart of Sandton hold their values well and are ever-in-demand, which is excellent for medium to long-term investment purposes.

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“Buying a super home in Sandton is a mark of success. Elite business people are inspired by Sandton living, while the heritage-style homes on sprawling grounds are attractive to executive families who want to be close to some of the most prestigious schools in the country,” said Vining.

He added that Sandton remained a hive of development activity.

“Mixed-use developments have gained popularity and several are currently under construction [such as Kgoro and expansion of existing developments such as Melrose Arch] and is attracting fresh interest. Sandton and Morningside have seen numerous hotels with sectional title rooms go up, and there is plenty more high-rise apartment buildings underway. While some are just breaking ground others have neared completion.”

Samuel Seeff, chairman of Seeff Property Group said, “While disappointed at the news of the credit downgrade by the S&P rating agency, the threat of a downgrade has been looming for the past 18 months.”

He continued that the downgrade had in many ways already been priced into current trading markets. “We, therefore, expect the property market to remain stable for the time being with any real effects only filtering through later in the year,” said Seeff.

“That said, one cannot ignore the actual realisation that junk status sends a major blow to consumer confidence and will have a longer term negative impact on the economy and we again emphasise the need for political and economic stability.”

Seeff said there was no need to panic and he expected it would be business as usual for the property market.

“Looking further into the future, we would need to wait and see how the effect on the economy unfolds and how that will, in turn, impact the property market.”

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