Durban North Property – 2011 Stats
Category Property News
Residential Property performed very well in the Durban North suburbs in 2011 and whilst we didn’t experience major growth in terms of House Prices, what we found was that the suburb performed very well when compared with what was happening in other parts of KZN and around South Africa.
If you read any newspaper or internet article, you’ll read about how the property market is still sitting in favour of the Buyer, because of an over-supply of stock. Loads of stock, and a small pool of buyers means that Sellers have to price correctly and be negotiable if they want their home to be competitive and attract the buyers in the market. These articles however are written with a national view and unfortunately, or fortunately whichever way you look at it, this is certainly not the case in the Durban North suburbs.
In fact, it’s almost the opposite. Stock levels are low. Actually, let me be a little clearer – there is still a fair amount of over-priced, stale stock on the market where sellers have adopted a “wait-and-see” approach for the past few years, but there is no interest from Buyers for these homes as they don’t represent good value. But with regards to good, well priced stock in central Durban North, there is a shortage at the moment. Sellers take note!
With regards to buyers, since the 1st Jan 2012, we have noticed a definite increase in demand, evident by the increase in the number of internet visits and leads from our websites, as well as a marked increase in Show House attendance numbers.
Durban North has always held its stature as a residential suburb of choice with Buyers, and this has a lot to do with the great schools in the area. Younger buyers need to be living in school catchment areas, and this plays a big part in deciding on where to buy. The suburb is also conveniently located between Durban and Umhlanga, which allows great access to beaches, entertainment and business locations in the greater area, and there is a definite influx of business people relocating from the Gauteng as the business parks in the Umhlanga / Gateway area develop.
According to Lightstone, in 2011 the average property prices in the Durban North suburbs were as follows:
- Durban North – R2,3 Million
- Riverside – R1,2 Million
- Prospect Hall – R1,3 Million
- Parkhill – R1 Million
- Athlone – R1,9 Million
- Virginia – R2,1 Million
- Red Hill – R0.9 Million
These suburbs combined make up the greater Durban North suburb, and in total there were 440 transactions that registered in the Deeds office in 2011 (report taken from Dec 2010 – Nov 2011) at a total value of R735 Million in property sales. Our company’s sales represented 28% of this number, which is close on 1 in 3 properties sold.
