Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Rondebosch property prices driven by the suburb’s popularity
WHEN Zanny Muller, one of the Knight Frank agents in the Rondebosch area – working with Jeanne Cowan – first started working in this suburb, she was surprised by the demand for property there, no matter how high the prices seemed to be at the time.
This was around 2010, when most buyers were looking for family homes close to good schools and UCT priced in the R4.5 million bracket.
Things are much the same now, says Muller, except that the prices are well up and so is the demand. Potential buyers now look in the R7.5m to R8m price range – the average price for a family home on the Golden Mile on 1 000m plots.
The average price in 2010 in Rondebosch, according to CMA Info was R2627543, and the current average is now R4 871 428. By comparison, the City of Cape Town average property price for 2015 was R1 765 381. It is interesting to note that, although there were dips in the average growth a year in 2010 and again in 2012, the sales figures show steady and well above average year on year increases in values in Rondebosch for 2011 – 15.02 percent, 2013 – 16.26 percent – and 2015 – 13.28 percent.
Buyers don’t mind spending more in Rondebosch, says Muller, and popularity now far exceeds that of many other previously wellknown southern suburbs. Beforehand, it was trendy to live in Constantia on large properties and commute, but the trend now seems to be for families to want to live on smaller grounds closer to their destination. Many also don’t seem to be overly concerned about whether a home needs renovation to make their perfect home, she says, as it is quite difficult to overcapitalise here.
“Most families who have moved from Constantia or the Atlantic seaboard have done so because the children have reached schoolgoing age and need to be close to schools”.
There is a spread of property values in Rondebosch – the low range average for 2015 was R2 360 814, the middle range R3 967 778 and the high range home average R15.3m. PropStats – the Institute of Estate Agents Western Cape property data service – figures indicate that the current average sales price is R7.16 million with homes selling at a 5 percent difference between listing and selling prices.
A neo- Tudor home with lead pane windows and traditional trim that Muller and Cowan are marketing is sure to sell quickly, they say, mainly because of it being in the school catchment area.
This is a four- bedroom home with a downstairs guest suite and staff accommodation. In addition, it has an extra large garage and off street parking.
All the entertainment areas face north-west and open onto a large entertainment patio in a well maintained garden. The 330m home on a 991m2 plot is priced at R7.8m.
“Many buyers are fast realising what a good investment a Rondebosch home is,” says Cowan.