FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SEVERAL YEARS THERE ARE NOW MANY HOUSES FOR SALE IN LOWER CONSTANTIA – APKF AGENTS

For a decade or more Lower Constantia has been seen as a highly desirable address by the upwardly mobile and already arrived managerial and professional sets, particularly those that appreciate the southern suburbs.

Mandy Kuhn and Helene du Plessis of the Claremont headquartered estate agency, Anne Porter Knight Frank, say that they are still amazed and pleased by the area’s ability to attract new buyers and, they report, right now the many people still wanting to move in here stand a better chance of doing so than they have done for some time.

“Hit by the higher interest rates and the National Credit Act, Lower Constantia, like many other Cape Town suburbs, now,” says Kuhn, “has more stock on the market than has been seen for at least four years.  We ourselves currently have 14 homes listed for sale in Constantia.”

“It is, of course, true,” said du Plessis, “that many sellers continue to try and hold out for unrealistically higher prices – but it is also true that others are coming to terms with the fact that the heady annual increases of yesteryear are now a thing of the past and we are in a buyers’ market.  What is more, we now realise that today’s buyer canvasses the market, takes his time about making a decision and expects to get a good price.  We are, I think, likely to remain in this situation at least until the end of 2008 and possibly well into 2009.”

In the sub-R3 million category, said du Plessis, the market is now very active.  But, she says, buyers have very definitely lowered their expectations and are now looking to buy a home on average R500 000 less expensive than that they previously set their sights on.  Show houses, she said, are particularly well attended these days.  

Some sellers, says Kuhn, are still trying to get prices of R3,5 to R4 million although all the indicators point to the sub R3 million market now being where the action is.

Du Plessis and Kuhn, says Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank, recently have been on a roll and had a series of successes.  The agents themselves said that this has been largely due to being totally conscientious about feedback to clients.

“We report to our clients on every contact and every visit that we make,” said du Plessis.  “This almost invariably means that we are in touch at least once a day.”

In the current more complicated and more competitive market, she added, it is essential to keep abreast with – and up to date on – all aspects of the property industry, particularly the latest legislation.  Recognising this, APKF, said Kuhn, provide compulsory training every week and this, she believes, has given the firm a competitive edge.