The year 2019 has undoubtedly been tough for the property market, but this has not stopped aspiring homeowners from claiming their piece of the property pie.
The pie, however, appears to be a blend of flavours with a range of areas and suburbs appealing to an even more diverse ranges of buyers, and for various reasons. As such, there does not appear to be an outright winner of the "Most Popular Suburb of the Year" award.
Among the top areas in the mix are Sol Plaatjie Village, Vlakfontein, Roodepoort, Midrand and Parktown North.
Property searches on Property360 for the past 12 months reveal the majority of interest in Gauteng properties for sale was shown to Roodepoort, with more than 14900 searches. This was followed by Centurion with almost 14000 searches.
In the rental market, Joburg central saw the most interest, followed by Cosmo City, says Carolyn Savage, Property360 general manager.
The Joburg area that saw the highest number of property sales this year was Sol Plaatjie Village in Soweto, reveals Lightstone Property data. A total of 1599 properties were sold here in 2019 to date, with an average purchase price of R66956. Lenasia’s Vlakfontein follows with 1343 and Midrand’s Halfway Gardens with 940 sales.
The top-selling suburb for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty was Randburg, with Cobus Odendaal, managing director in his area, saying buyers are attracted to the wide variety of properties and price ranges (R600000 to R16million) in the area. Properties below R1.75m “perform very well” as do those from R3.5m to R4.5m in Linden and Robindale.
Randburg is also popular as it offers good quality public and private schools, access to major highways, and shopping malls, restaurants, and gyms.
“And the price of properties per square metre is lower than the northern suburbs,” he says.
The average property price in Randburg is R1.95m for freehold and R1.45m for sectional title, although properties on the eastern side of the N1 Bypass achieve higher prices.
Midrand is Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty’s second highest seller. The agency’s manager in the area, Grahame Diedericks, says the suburb has “come into its own” with new developments and community projects, including Waterfall City.
“Midrand’s location is also a drawcard with easy access to major highways, and it offers value for money in the current market. With commercial and residential development in the area, people can live close to where they work.”
He says there has been an increase in first-time buyers and investors who have “identified the scope for growth in the area”.
Sectional title prices here range from R800000 to R1.8m and full title from R1.8m.
For Pam Golding Properties, Parktown North has been one of Joburg’s top-selling areas in 2019. It is close to the Rosebank, Sandton and Joburg CBDs, good schools, and shopping and entertainment, says Richard Smith, the agency’s Hyde Park area manager. The suburb offers “good value-for-money homes with different styles and sizes”.
“Many homes have been renovated so there is a wide range of old charm and modern properties.”
Prices range from R1.4m to R2.2m for sectiona- title properties, and from about R4.35m for freestanding homes, he says.
Sunninghill and Kyalami are also among the city’s best sellers.
“Sunninghill is conveniently situated close to the N1 with easy access to Sandton, Midrand, Pretoria and the East Rand,” says Ken Woollcott, Pam Golding Properties Fourways area manager.
Kyalami is also a popular and well-located suburb close to Sandton, Centurion and Pretoria with amenities including good schools, shopping, places of worship and entertainment, says the agency’s Midrand area manager, Nadia Moosa. The area attracts families looking for a secure environment within a lifestyle estate and close to good schools.
She predicts Beaulieu will be a future hotspot for buyers as it offers large properties on spacious grounds, and a country lifestyle within the city.
Dainfern Golf Estate and Lonehill are up-and-coming areas listed by Woollcott as areas to watch, while Smith predicts Parktown North, Parkview, Parkwood, and Parkhurst will be future property hotspots.
Sandhurst tops Gauteng price lists for suburbs and streets
Lightstone data reveals the highest median property values and price growth in Gauteng. Picture: Lightstone
Lightstone has revealed the most expensive suburbs and streets in Gauteng. Predictably, Sandton, and specifically its central suburb of Sandhurst, dominated the list. With an average value of R9.3 million, Sandhurst took the top spot, followed by Westcliff in Joburg at R9m.
Other top median value suburbs are:
- Blair Athol (City of Tshwane) R8.8m
- Kyalami Heights (Midrand) R7.9m
- Athol (Sandton) R6.7m
- Inanda (Sandton) R6.4m
The top streets, according to Lightstone, are:
- Stewart Place (Sandhurst) R30.3m
- Killarney Road (Sandhurst) R26.9m
- Coronation Road (Sandhurst) R24.2m
- Trafalgar Place (Sandhurst) R23.5m
- Saxon Road (Sandhurst) R22.3m
- Northumberland Avenue (Dunkeld West) R22.3m
Of the almost five million searches for homes to rent and buy on Property360 over the past 12 months, Gauteng accounted for 2.5 million. A total of 956 735 visitors searched for property to buy while 1 556 956 were looking to rent, says Property360 general manager Carolyn Savage.
Analytical data for the page revealed the top areas searched for, the number of prospective buyers and tenants looking for new homes, and these areas’s percentages of total searches for in the province.
Property for sale
- Roodepoort 14982 1.57%
- Centurion 13 361 1.40%
- Randburg 12931 1.36%
- Joburg central 12856 1.35%
- Sandton 12145 1.27%
- Midrand 12011 1.26%
- Pretoria East 9584 1.0%
- Soweto 8 120 0.85%
- Pretoria Central 7029 0.74%
- Alberton 7006 0.73%
Property to let
- Joburg central 21952 1.42%
- Cosmo City 21929 1.41%
- Tembisa 20364 1.32%
- Roodepoort 18 405 1.19%
- Jabulani 18 362 1.15%
- Randburg 17 747 1.15%
- Soweto 17048 1.08%
- Kensington 16683 1.06%
- Pretoria East 16183 1.04%
- Fleurhof 14 863 0.96%