The Ballito Market

Ballito's market entry is about R750 000 for a one-bedroom apartment, Amanzimtoti about R720 000 for a basic house and Pietermaritzburg in the region of R350 000 for a tiny CBD flat.

That's of course if any are available and if the buyer has a good relationship with a well connected estate agent.

A survey of three major KwaZulu-Natal RE/MAX estate agencies by mortgage originator PA BetterBond this week revealed both lower and middle markets holding firm with some price stabilisation setting in and a slowdown in the luxury markets of Ballito and Pietermaritzburg, according to Rudi Botha, CEO of PA BetterBond.

But stock in the lower price ranges of the three areas Botha says remains in tight supply with seemingly little chance of any easing in the immediate future. Most grimly affected is Pietermaritzburg where relocation of provincial civil servants from Ulundi to the city is creating enormous pressure on both purchasing and rental stock.

Gerald Katz of RE/MAX Midlands, describing the city's R350 000 to R550 000 market segment as “hectic”, notes that it is not unusual for up to half-a-dozen offers to be submitted on the same property within its first 48 hours of listing. Ironically, with the migration of civil servants still to run its course, Katz sees the pressure further peaking in this price range.

He also reports there's still aggressive demand in the R500 000 to R750 000 but levelling off to normalcy in the upper price range of R1,5 million to R2,5 million.

Amanzimtoti, mainly because of its low market entry value, has witnessed enormous price increases and is described as “very busy, but showing some sign of price stabilisation,” by Ricky Jacobs of RE/MAX ‘Toti. The company bounced back in June and July with excellent trading figures after May sales slipped to their lowest levels in two years.

Jacobs puts ‘Toti's current single-dwelling market entry at R720 000 and apartments and townhouses of similar size only slightly cheaper. Stock supply has eased in the past few weeks mainly from speculators having purchased with 108 percent bonds now shedding their high financial commitments because of rentals too low to cover bond repayments. But while short-term speculators might be eager to shed their market exposure there is still no buckling in the number of eager investors armed with good deposits, according to Jacobs.

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