Mid-year market update - people are purchasing in Bergvliet, great news for sellers

While not impervious to the impact of the Covid pandemic, lockdown restrictions and seasonality, the residential real estate market continues to be a positive story in the economy.

FNB's mid-year property trends show that after some acceleration in house prices during the latter part of 2020, the bank's House Price Index has a recorded a slowdown in growth to 3.7% year-on-year, down from 4.2% in May as the initial "buyer frenzy" cools slightly.

Nonetheless, the bank says liquidity in the market remains intact and activity is still at the best levels in three years as buyers and sellers continue to take advantage of the favourable market conditions. Bank data also shows that mortgage lending is at the highest levels since 2007 while the deposit requirements are at the lowest.

The interest rate looks set to remain low, but a rate hike could come in the latter part of the year although it is expected to be fairly benign. The CPI has improved to 4.6% in July, down from 4.9% in June and 5.2% in May, some good news for the interest rate, although it is still above the mid-point in the Reserve Bank's target range of 4%-6%.

From a local market perspective, the Bergvliet and Kreupelbosch areas remain among the most in-demand neighbourhoods in the Southern Suburbs and activity continues unabated as buyers look to make the most of the favourable buying conditions.

Propstats data shows about 26 sales recorded across the entire market (all agencies) in Bergvliet so far this year. However, Lightstone shows additional activity (as not all agencies report their sales on Propstats) with a total of 34 transfers for the year. Sales have been concluded predominantly in the R3 million to R5 million range.

The sales data for all agencies shows an average selling price of R3 935 000 against a list price of R4 191 000 which means that sellers had to drop their price by 6.1% to conclude a sale. Sales took about 58 days (8,2 weeks) to sell.

Seeff's area specialist, Sharyn Dabbs, however, outperformed the general market by achieving a higher price and faster sales for sellers. She achieved a selling price of R4 092 000 against a list price of R4263 000 with sellers needing to cut their price by only 4.7%. The time taken to sell was twice as fast as the rest of the market at only 29 days (4,1 weeks) on average.

The data demonstrates that choosing a Seeff agent makes a significant difference for sellers. With buyers able to view, it is a great time for sellers. A Sole Mandate is always the best way to go if you are serious about selling, but be sure though to choose your local Seeff area agent to get the best advice and insight into the local market backed by over fifty years' experience in real estate.

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