Plettenberg Bay property market now ready to chill

AVERAGE residential property prices remained unchanged after a previous large increase, while number of sales has declined, which indicates that the market is entering a cooling off phase. Averages increased from R1.97 million in 2016 by about 16% in 2017 and then remained roughly the same thereafter at ±R2.3 million . The number of sales declined from 528 in 2016 to 470 in 2017 11% . A total of 318 sales from 2018 has registered so far, but this will increase as more sales register this year, so the jury is still out. Sales of vacant land have remained robust and build ing activity for both reno vations and new houses has remained high. By sales date, Plettenberg Bay broke the R1 billion mark for the first time in history in 2016 and fol lowed suit in 2017 but it appears that 2018 will fall short of this; again, take note that many 2018 sales will only register in 2019. By registration date, Lightstone reported 498 sales to the value of just over R1 billion in 2018 for the third year running Lew Geffen Sotheby's In ternational Realty Pletten berg Bay once again had a record year for 2018 with the highest sales and.com mission earned to date, hav ing been involved in R414 million worth of sales. The highest price achieved in residential sales in 2018 was for vacant land in Rob berg Beach End at R35 mil lion and sold by Hein Pre torius in 2017 two Robberg beachfront properties sold for R36 million each . Over the past few years, a number of sales came close to or topped R30 million on Beachy Head Drive, where houses were demol ished to make way for new homes. So a new level for beachfront property seems to be established and en trenches Plett as one of the highest value property markets in Africa. For apartments, De Meer min has kept its highest placed prices for three years running: 2018 R9.9 mil lion, 2017 R6.8million, and 2016 R10.5million. The historical record price for residential property re mains unchanged and has been held since 2006 by Hein Pretorius at R50 million for a luxury coastal estate. Entry level asking prices remained steady but are substantially higher than pre 2017. The entry level for apartments is R700,000 and vacant land starts at about R275,000. The entry level for houses is around R1.75 million, though there are cheaper options in areas surround ing Plett. It is difficult to find houses below R2 million. Top asking prices are cur rently as follows: R35 mil lion for vacant residential land non development , R9.5 million for apart ments, R55 million for houses, and R75 million for coastal estates. Top prices obviously fluc tuate considerably depend ing on what is available on the market at the time. Says Sotheby's Plett broker principal Hein Pretorius: "2017 fared better than what we initially predicted, and 2018 greatly exceeded ex pectations. Plett bucked the downward trend of the rest of the country due in part to semigration and to an in crease in local purchasing. "There does appear to be a cooling off, but we remain positive about prospects for the property market in 2019 and feel that the na tional market will improve post elections. We have had a great year and are truly blessed to live in Plett." Pretorius says the mar ket was active across price ranges and categories. "We were able to assist purchasers across the board. Entry level properties did well, and it was good to see vacant land moving." He adds that a few no table new developments demonstrate investor confi dence in the market, quot ing One Beachy Head and Plett Quarter as examples. One Beachy Head Drive is a development of around R100 million of which con struction is almost complete. The four ultra luxury hous es are in the only gated estate on Beachy Head and equate a new landmark for Plett. A R200 million mixed use project on Main Street's Dolphin Circle, indications for Plett Quarter are that the project will commence late in 2019. "Both developments still have residential units avail able, and commercial units have just become available on Main Street," says Pre torius. The towns surrounding Plett did not fare as well but remained fairly flat overall in 2018. There are very few sales in these ar eas, so statistics need to be seen in context and treated with some circumspection. In Wittedrift, seven prop erties transferred in 2018 for an average of R790,000 up from 2017, but still slightly below the peak in 2015. In Keurbooms proper main village , four prop erties transferred in 2018 for an average of R7.86 million, the highest being R9.75 million for an older beachfront home. Nature's Valley saw av erages of R3.87 million in 2018 with 11 registered properties, which is a de crease from 2017. These figures were taken from deeds information on January 16. Plett sales are listed by date of sale, not transfer date, to provide a more accurate depiction. Rural property, sales be low R100,000, known non arm's length transactions and duplications e.g. when a developer buys numerous properties for a single price and each is listed at the full price, only the single figure is taken are not included in the figures. A number of sales are still in the registration process, so the statistics and graphs will change in future, espe cially for 2018. Steven Neufeld is man ager principal of Lew Gef fen Sotheby's International Realty Plettenberg Bay and a professional valuer and court appointed appraiser for South African Property Valuations. Contact him on 072 417 7731 or at steve. sir@plettenbergbay.com and see the advert on the cover for this week's listing.